Updated 01:09 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) – An unidentified submarine currently being sought by Sweden in its territorial waters could belong to the Royal Netherlands Navy, a Russian Defense Ministry source told RIA Novosti on Monday.
"In order to ease tensions in the Baltic Sea and save the money of Swedish taxpayers, we would recommend searching for explanations from the Dutch Navy. Last week, a Dutch diesel-electric submarine Bruinvis was completing some practical tasks in the immediate vicinity of Stockholm," the source said.
"The Russian Defense Ministry provided whatever aid it could to the Swedes in their futile search," the source added.
The Swedish Armed Forces launched a major search operation off the coast of Stockholm on Friday after receiving information, reportedly from a civilian, about the presence of an unknown underwater object in the region.
Earlier media reports suggested that the object could be a damaged Russian submarine. A spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry denied the claims, stating that "there have been no extraordinary, let alone emergency situations involving Russian military vessels."
