NATO alliance to grow stronger with four battalions

The upcoming NATO battalions in the Baltic states should be considered a symbolic presence, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.

Russia should not be concerned about the deployment of four NATO battalions in the Baltic countries, including Lithuania, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said.

"A battalion consists of about 1,000 servicemen. It is clear even to amateurs that concentration of armed forces in the Baltic republics is not on the table. I would not even compare [it to] the number of servicemen, armaments, tanks and planes stationed in the Kaliningrad region, there is no need to do that, no one is competing here," the minister told the newspaper Kommersant in an interview.

"This is a symbolic number of servicemen, and it would be ridiculous to even discuss this in a professional manner," he said.

Linkevicius said that the deployment of NATO battalions had moral significance.

"Even the symbolic physical presence of this battalion creates a feeling of protection. By the way, the deployment of servicemen will not even be permanent -- they will come here to exercise and will leave," he said.

Last week, the North Atlantic Council, which consists of NATO member states' defense ministers, decided to increase the allied presence in the Baltic Sea region by sending a battalion-sized unit to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The units would consist of 800 to 1,200 people and more specifics would be agreed upon after the Warsaw summit.

The NATO summit in Warsaw on July 8-9 is expected to put the final seal of approval on measures to reinforce the eastern flank of the alliance.