Germany is ready to strengthen its military presence on Nato’s eastern flank to guard against an attack by Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday.
Mr Scholz said a German-led battalion in Lithuania could be developed into a “robust fighting brigade” to deter and defend against any invasion.
On a trip to Vilnius, he heard appeals from the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to reinforce Nato’s defences in the “very sensitive security situation” faced by the three Baltic states.
Estonia and Latvia border the Russian mainland, the only Nato countries other than Norway to do so, while Lithuania is sandwiched between Kremlin ally Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
All three ex-Soviet countries have announced increases in defence spending since Russia invaded Ukraine but are asking their western allies to provide more military muscle. Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has spoken of resetting the bloc's defence posture.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the country was ready to host more German forces that would “serve as a guarantee for the security of the whole alliance”.
He called on Nato leaders meeting in Madrid this month to agree “a shift from deterrence to forward defence, from battalion to brigade, from air policing to air defence”.
Mr Scholz visited some of the German soldiers stationed in Lithuania as part of what is known as Nato’s Enhanced Forward Presence. The battalion of 1,600 includes troops from Denmark, Belgium and other countries.
“We have decided that we will strengthen our contribution,” said Mr Scholz after talks with Mr Nauseda and prime ministers Kaja Kallas of Estonia and Krisjanis Karins of Latvia.
“We are ready to strengthen our engagement and develop into a robust fighting brigade that can organise the deterrence and defence against any aggression against Lithuania.”
Britain leads an equivalent defensive force in Estonia, while Canadian forces are the core of Latvia’s battalion and US troops lead the defence of Poland.
Nato agreed in March to establish four more battalions in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia to extend the enhanced presence to the Black Sea.
Baltic nations Sweden and Finland last month submitted applications to join Nato, coming after Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the invasion of Ukraine and signalling an end to decades of military neutrality.
“Putin has achieved quite an unexpected result: an unprovoked war against Ukraine has resulted in Europe and the alliance coming together,” said Mr Karins.
The Baltic leaders, all vocal supporters of Ukraine, praised Mr Scholz for bringing in a special €100 billion ($107bn) budget to upgrade Germany’s military after years of underinvestment.
But Germany has baulked at some of the demands of Baltic states, including an embargo on Russian gas and a swift approval for Ukraine’s application to join the European Union.
Mr Scholz said Germany was replacing Russian gas as quickly as possible but “can only go as quickly as physics allows”.
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
On racial profiling at airports
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
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