Estonian defense chief meets NATO secgen, British PM

TALLINN – Commander of the Estonian defense forces Lt. Gen. Martin Herem on Tuesday met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited the Tapa military compound and the allied battlegroup stationed there.

Stoltenberg and Johnson received an overview of the security situation, met with the leadership of the Estonian state and the defense forces as well as with the soldiers of the allied forces serving here. Previously, Stoltenberg also met with Estonian President Alar Karis in Tallinn.

Other participants of the visit in addition to the NATO chief and British premier included NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Gen. Tod D. Wolters, NATO Military Committee Chairman Adm. Rob Bauer, representatives of the Multinational Corps Northeast and Multinational Division North as well as commander of the Latvian defense forces Lt. Gen. Leonids Kalnins.

On the Estonian side, visitors were hosted by the leadership of the defense forces and the 1st Infantry Brigade, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet and Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets.

The secretary general of NATO is the highest official of the alliance, responsible for leading the alliance's consultation and decision-making process and for implementing the decisions taken. The United Kingdom has been the lead country of the NATO battlegroup in Estonia since April 2017.

At the Warsaw summit in June 2016, the leaders of NATO's 28 member states decided to station alliance battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as a response to the changed security situation. The United Kingdom is the lead country of the battlegroup, supported by French and Danish troops. The first battlegroup arrived at Tapa in April 2017.