US will keep its military presence in the Baltic region: Austin
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the United States will keep its military presence in the Baltic region in Russia’s backyard, amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington over the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking in Tallinn on Thursday after talks with Estonian leaders, the Pentagon chief said the United States will continue to keep a "persistent, rotational" military presence in the region and is ready to defend Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Reuters reported.
"We are committed to Article 5, you can bet on that", said Austin, referring to the article in the NATO Charter that requires each member of the US-led military alliance to defend each other if they come under attack.
"The United States remains steadfastly committed to the freedom and sovereignty of our Baltic allies," Austin told the news conference.
The three Baltic States are part of NATO and the European Union. But they are neighbors of Russia and its ally Belarus, and were part of the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1991.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said his country is "working to prevent" it from being attacked by Russia, while Moscow has never issued any threat against the Baltic state.
"Deterrence is the one key word here. This is exactly why NATO is coming up with new regional defense plans that will hopefully be approved in NATO Vilnius summit in July,” said Pevkur.
NATO has stepped up its military buildup near Russia’s borders since it suspended all ties with Moscow in April 2014 after Crimea re-integrated into the Russian Federation following a referendum. The military has increased its military presence in the Baltic region since the Ukraine-Russia war started in February 2022.
The US and its European allies have supplied weapons worth tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight against Russia and have also deployed additional troops to the Baltic region.
Before the Ukraine conflict broke out, the United States "allowed" three fellow-NATO member states in the Baltic region to send US-made missiles and other armaments to Ukraine, according to a report.
The US State Department approved shipments of US-made missiles and other weapons from NATO allies Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to Ukraine, Reuters cited three unnamed sources as saying.
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