U.S. Under Secretary of State confirms U.S. commitment to security of Baltic states
On 20 September in New York, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius together with his Latvian and Estonian counterparts met with the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon. In the meeting, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister stressed the importance of transatlantic relations and the need to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of security, economy, and trade.
Linkevičius also thanked the U.S. for its contribution to strengthening security of Lithuania and the region, and for the U.S. decision to help with the formation of units of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) in the Baltic states and in Poland.
The U.S. confirmed its commitment to security of the Baltic states in spite of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election. “You are small and far away nations, but you are true allies of the United States,” said Shannon.
In the meeting, the officials also noted that in a changed security environment it was important to strengthen not only defence forces, but also the capacities of energy, cyber security, and strategic communications.
The Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states thanked the U.S. President Barack Obama for dedicating attention to the Baltic states’ democratic achievements in the speech at the UN General Assembly on 20 September.
