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On Friday, January 19, the Defense Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia signed an agreement on the establishment of the Baltic Defense Line to strengthen the eastern border of the Baltic States and NATO.
In order to deter and block possible military aggression by the aggressor state against the Baltic states, the plan envisages the future development and use of various anti-mobility measures at the external borders of NATO and the European Union.
During the meeting, defense ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding on rocket artillery cooperation to enhance mutual cooperation in training and system maintenance. This document emphasizes the need to develop air defense capabilities as an essential part of the defense of the Baltics.
The Baltic states reiterated their determination to strengthen support for Ukraine through coalitions
and support each other in developing these coalitions. The Baltic states will also continue training Ukrainian soldiers.
In preparation for the NATO summit in Washington, the defense ministers of the Baltic states during the meeting unanimously expressed their support for Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the European Union, and also emphasized the need to specifically strengthen NATO’s air defense in the region.
As Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds (P) told the media, the initiative to create a defense line will significantly strengthen the ability of the Baltic States to protect their borders and ensure the delay and blocking of the movement of a potential adversary. This will be a joint project of the Baltic States and will also help in line with NATO’s defense plans.
“The Baltic states must protect their territory and also their borders. We must do everything we can to increase our military countermobility capacity and effectiveness to deter and block potential adversaries. “In this case, the potential opponent is of course aggressive on the eastern side, Russia,” emphasized Sprud.
Sprude said that the implementation of regional plans, strong mutual support and also the promotion of air defense systems are very important. “So we can continue to work to make the entire security environment much safer for us, our community, even in a region where we face challenges from our neighbors. “That is why we are taking very practical steps forward, supporting Ukraine’s accession to NATO and of course strengthening our borders by creating defense lines,” the minister said.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkurs told reporters that defense was based on three pillars.
The first pillar is the desire to protect. “If we are ready to protect ourselves, then we are all ready to protect our countries,” Pevkur emphasized.
The second pillar is the willingness to protect. “We do that in all our countries. We see that all our countries have increased their defense spending. In Estonia this year it is 3.2%. Latvia and Lithuania are also approaching the goal of reaching 3% of GDP in the coming years,” the Estonian minister emphasized.
Estonia has developed many other capabilities such as missiles, sea mines, etc., but the list could be very long. Estonia bought more ammunition last year alone than in the last 30 years overall, explained Pevkurs.
The third pillar is defense operations at regional and international levels. The regional operation is exactly what the Baltic ministers discussed today. And one of the best examples is the agreement on the creation of the Baltic defense line, Pevkurs emphasized.
“We all understand that we cannot change our neighbors. Belarus and Russia are here, we cannot change it. This means that we have to face all these threats, which have now turned into a war in Ukraine. And of course we will support Ukraine. But when it comes to defense, defensive readiness matters. “It’s about how we can shorten the time we need to be ready when needed,” said the Estonian minister.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvīds Anušauskas, in turn, said that in view of Russian aggression against Ukraine, it is very important to continue cooperation between the Baltic states.
“Baltic cooperation must be stronger than ever before. We agreed on the concept of the Baltic Defense Line. The aim is a common approach to developing a range of anti-mobility measures at the borders of enemy countries. Our experts develop principles for better cooperation in the defense sector in order to stop the enemy’s advance within the first few centimeters. “We also agreed to advance the development of the capabilities of the Himars rocket artillery,” the Lithuanian minister emphasized.
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