Karis in Riga: Close cooperation strengthens regional security

RIGA – At a meeting of the Baltic presidents in Riga, President Alar Karis highlighted the excellent and close security cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

"Our discussion today was meaningful and showed once again how united we are in our thinking," said President Karis, thanking Latvia and Lithuania for their solidarity after Russia's violation of Estonian airspace. "Russia's provocations are ongoing, which is why we must consistently maintain focus on the security of the eastern flank in NATO and the European Union."

According to President Karis, all Baltic states want to strengthen NATO's collective defense. "The strongest deterrence against Russia comes from NATO's collective defense, sanctions, and consistent support for Ukraine," he emphasized. "We appreciate the long-term commitment of the United States to European security. Increased defense spending must lead to a significant strengthening of Europe's defense capabilities as quickly as possible."

The heads of state jointly acknowledged that the Baltic states' own defense expenditures will increase next year. Estonia's national defense spending will amount to 5.4 percent of GDP in 2025.

President Karis stated that the European Union must increase defense spending in its next budget and provide additional funding to eastern border countries to strengthen border protection and counter Russian provocations.

Speaking on Ukraine's security, the president stressed that support for Ukraine must continue and that any peace plan must include credible guarantees. "Ukraine must not have restrictions on its defense capabilities," Karis said.

At the meeting, the Estonian head of state highlighted the successful desynchronization of the Baltic states and Poland from the Russian electricity grid. "This is our joint achievement," he said, also emphasizing the importance of U.S. LNG: "About 65 percent of the region's gas comes from the U.S., which strengthens both our energy security and our transatlantic relations."

The Rail Baltica project is of strategic importance for the entire region in terms of improving connectivity between the Baltic states, the Estonian head of state said.