French-Baltic air police to continue mission

2008-06-06
In cooperation with BNS

Photo: Andrew Eick

VILNIUS - France will participate in the NATO-sanctioned air police mission in the Baltic States as long as it will be required.

This was affirmed by France's Secretary of State attached to Minister of Defense and Veterans' Affairs Jean-Marie Bockel, on his recent visit to Vilnius.

Following a meeting with Bockel, Defense Minister Juozas Olekas repeated that France promised to back the air police mission until the Baltic States make another decision.
France's participation in two more rotations of the mission before year 2011 was also confirmed at the time of the meeting.

France's fighter aircraft guarded the airspace of the Baltic countries during the months of March-August in year 2007.

Baltic countries do not have suitable airships for patrolling their skies. By the decision of the North Atlantic Council, planes and contingents are deployed in Lithuania for a rotation of a few months in order to watch over the airspace of the Baltic countries.
According to current agreements, NATO partners will watch over the airspace of the Baltic Countries until year 2011. However Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are opting for the mission to be extended until year 2018.
It was decided at the time of a tripartite meeting of defense ministers of the Baltic states in the end of May, that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will conduct a study by 2010 to seek out the most effective choice as to what form the NATO-sanctioned air police mission currently under implementation in the Baltic countries could take on in the future.