Baltic states prepare for NATO forward-deployed forces 42405161

Defence & Security News - NATO
 
Baltic states prepare for NATO forward-deployed forces
The Defence Ministers of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia agreed to take further steps to host the NATO forward-deployed forces in the Baltic region. An agreement was signed by the three men during the Baltic Ministerial Committee meeting in Kuressaare, Estonia.
     
Baltic states prepare for NATO forward deployed forces
The three Defence Ministers signing the agreement which includes a series of initiatives that will support and facilitate the four hosted battalions (Photo: Estonian MoD)
     

NATO is expected to finalize the agreement of sending four additional battalions to the Baltic States, during the upcoming Summit in Warsaw. The three ministers were Hannes Hanson (Estonia), Juozas Olekas (Lithuania) and Raimonds Bergmanis (Latvia). They all agreed that they should be prepared to host the additional forces by improving their infrastructure and training conditions.

To succeed that, they will conduct a thorough analysis of using the available military training areas. In addition they will facilitate the movement of these forces across their borders.

Besides the common initiatives, the ministers reiterated their support to the Ukrainian and Georgian sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. They also expressed their support to the launch of NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine and towards a closer cooperation between the Alliance and Georgia.