US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the Baltic countries for their defence budgets and support for Ukraine, calling them “leaders in NATO”. He met the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on Monday.
“These three allies have been leaders in NATO, contributing significantly to their defence budgets, leading the way in NATO and also leading the way in support for Ukraine at a time when that support is absolutely vital,” Blinken said before the meeting in Washington, D.C.
“And I think it’s a recognition on the part of all three countries, as well as the United States, of what the stakes are when it comes to our support for Ukraine,” he said.
The Baltic countries are planning to raise their military spending to 3 percent of GDP next year.
Lithuania’s 2024 budget earmarks 2.75 percent of GDP for defence, but part of the money comes from a temporary tax on windfall profits in banking. The government is currently looking for additional sources of income.
The Baltic countries are also among the largest material supporters of Ukraine in terms of the share of their budgets allocated for the purpose.
At the meeting with Biden, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis thanked the US for its military presence in the region, saying that “the transatlantic bond is a key factor in ensuring the European security and a rules-based international order”.
“The long-term presence of the US troops in Lithuania and the region is the strongest and irreplaceable deterrent. We are grateful for the [rotational] US battalion deployed in Lithuania and for investing in the development of common defence capabilities,” the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry quoted him in a press release.
The Baltic foreign ministers and their US counterpart discussed “regional security issues, continuity of assistance to Ukraine and key objectives of the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.”, it said.
Landsbergis said: “If we continue to draw red lines for ourselves rather than develop Ukraine’s victory plans, Russia and other autocratic countries will continue their aggression.”
“Without the US leadership, Ukraine will not be able to win this war,” he added.
