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:
"We will defend every inch of Nato territory if it comes under attack"
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 7, 2022
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has pledged to support Lithuania as it provides supplies to Ukraine in its war with Russiahttps://t.co/zYfolx930A pic.twitter.com/VgH0daR8qQ
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.
#Ukraine: The first FGM-148 "Javelin" launch tube assembly to be captured by separatists from the Ukrainian forces in #Volnovakha. However, without a command launch unit the tube itself is basically useless. Originally, Javelins were supplied to UA from the USA and Baltic states. pic.twitter.com/lfdXzmUOJr
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 4, 2022
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.