The Baltic States have watched Russia's invasion of Ukraine with increasing anxiety. Their people painfully aware of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's desire to expand Moscow's European sphere of influence.
However, unlike Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are NATO members.
That prompted Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to tell Lithuania, and its neighboring NATO members, that the United States will defend the Baltic people if Russia ever decides to invade again.
WATCH:
Blinken added that no decision has been made on whether or not to station U.S. troops permanently in the Baltic States.
As CNBC reports:
Blinken was speaking at a news conference in Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius with that country's foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis. He made similar remarks in Latvia, another Baltic country that belongs to NATO.
“We will defend every inch of NATO territory if it comes under attack,” Blinken said, reiterating comments made by President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address last week. “No one should doubt our readiness; no one should doubt our resolve.”
But Blinken said in Latvia that there has been no decision yet on whether to put U.S. troops permanently in the Baltics.
Lithuania, Latvia and the third Baltic nation, Estonia, with fellow NATO members and other Western countries have provided aid to Ukraine and harshly sanctioned Russia since it invaded the neighboring country.
That, in turn, has lead to fears that Putin may launch a retaliatory strike against them in some form.
To assuage any lingering fears, Blinken is set to visit Estonia tomorrow where he will reiterate that the United States will continue to support the Baltic countries as they provide Ukraine with lethal aid.
