President of Lithuania: The main threat to the Baltic countries is 'the existence of Russia and Belarus in the east'
Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite called the existence of Russia and Belarus in the east a major threat to the Baltic States and Poland. She made this announcement to the local press on June 5 before setting off on a state visit to Estonia.
The head of the Lithuanian state reminded journalists that the Baltic countries and Poland are the "eastern border area of NATO" and that having Russia and Belarus in the same neighborhood is a threat. The militarization of Kaliningrad region plus the use of the Belarusian territory for "various military experiments and aggressive games directed against the West" are also significant hazards.
Grybauskaite spoke of the Belarusian-Russian "Zapad-2017(West 2017)" military exercise as part of the "aggressive games" and challenges. Lithuanian authorities believe that they can serve as a prelude to an armed invasion and subsequent occupation.
In this regard, the Lithuanian Supreme Commander-in-Chief believes that the Baltic countries together with Poland should jointly strengthen the defense capability of their states, with air defense being the first priority. It would be necessary to saturate the "eastern wing" with air defense systems and other weapons as much as possible. This would cool the aggressors’ ardor and sober them up.
NATO should also become more flexible in the context of decision-making, ensuring a plan for countering a blockade of the Baltic States in case the so-called Suwalki corridor is captured by the enemy.
President Grybauskaite believes that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland should unanimously speak about these and other challenges at the summit of the leaders of the NATO member states in summer of 2018 in order to make significant progress in the security of the countries.