Europe

Baltic-US Cooperation and Security Threats to the Region

The three Baltic Foreign Ministers met with the US Senate to discuss transatlantic cooperation and security issues in the Baltic region

February 11th, 2019
Henrietta Störig, News from Berlin
20190211_Baltic-US Cooperation.jpg

The Foreign Ministers of Lithuania (Linas Linkevičius), Latvia (Edgars Rinkēvičs) and Estonia (Sven Mikser) met on Thursday, February 7, in Washington, DC, with the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to discuss topics such as transatlantic cooperation and security issues in the Baltic region, with a focus on Russian aggression in connection to Ukraine or energy companies.

Talking to Senator Jim Risch and Senator Bob Menendez, the group expressed a desire to continue strengthening transatlantic security cooperation, in order to protect the Baltic region as well as the EU from terrorist threats and Russian aggression. The three Baltic Foreign Ministers all expressed concern about Russia’s stance on Ukraine and energy dependence on Russia, as well as the dangers connected to Belarus’ nuclear power plant ‘Ostrovets’. With the help of the USA, the Baltic states want to improve security in the EU and strengthen NATO. Furthermore, the Baltic-U.S. cooperation on cyber security is said to be strengthened in order to protect against cyber-attacks and hybrid threats from terrorists and anti-EU forces. This is also anticipated to help counter misinformation through media and improving the quality of national media in the Baltic states.

References:

News from Berlin