Baltic States and Poland commit to jointly strengthen external border and airspace defense of NATO and EU's eastern flank

RIGA - The Baltic States and Poland will jointly strengthen the protection of the external border and airspace of NATO and the EU's eastern flank, ensuring the representation of common interests, the Ministry of Defense informed LETA.

Meeting in Daugavpils, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives), Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur and Polish Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Stanislaw Wziatek discussed the work done so far in establishing a Baltic defense line and strengthening air defense capabilities.

The National Armed Forces have deployed additional air defense units in Latgale, strengthening both air surveillance and interception capabilities, the Minister said.

"We are facing serious threats from Russia and the challenge of unmanned aerial vehicles is our new reality. Therefore, the Baltic States jointly motivate NATO Allies to implement the collective decisions taken earlier to strengthen the Alliance's external borders, including airspace," Spruds said after the meeting.

Minister Pevkur told reporters that much more can be done to strengthen the border in peacetime, including both the acquisition of mines and the creation of bunkers. Estonia is currently in the final stages of testing the bunkers and in the coming weeks will be firing on the bunkers to see which of the three different options are the most durable. Mass production will then start.

According to Pevkur, defense should be allocated a certain percentage of gross domestic product and it is not easy to explain to the public why it is necessary to pay higher taxes, but it is necessary to do so because of Russian aggression. We are also currently seeing the aggressor, Russia, increasing its production and investing in defense, he said.

On the Russian drone crash in Rezekne, Pevkur pointed out that it is not 100 percent possible to avoid such incidents, as Russia and Belarus are working together. Today, ministers discussed what more the allies can do in such cases.

"One aspect is better situational awareness so that we can see such objects better. The other aspect is the speed of response in all the Baltic States. It actually works. If, for example, such an object is spotted, can we get involved? Yes, we can, but if, for example, a drone is flying very close to Daugavpils, can we get involved where people are? There are many such questions, but that does not change the fact that it was a drone that fell on Latvian, NATO territory," said the Estonian Minister.

The Lithuanian Defense Minister said that the most important anti-mobility capability is mines, which is why Lithuania is acquiring a lot of mines. Lithuania intends to allocate 600 million euros for all anti-mobility measures over ten years, and most of the funding will go to various types of mines. Lithuania is also building 27 anti-mobility parks.

Participants also held a remote meeting with NATO officials to discuss both the possibilities of attracting NATO funding for joint projects and the strengthening of the Baltic Air Policing Mission and the implementation of the rotational air defense model. Ukrainian counterparts shared practical and up-to-date experience in strengthening their land borders with fortifications.

Meeting for the first time in this format, the Defense Ministers concluded the meeting by agreeing on further regular cooperation to strengthen the Eastern flank of the Alliance, both at expert and political leadership level, as well as on a concrete roadmap for the establishment of a Baltic defense line, with NATO and EU support.