U.S. Congress approves military funding

RIGA - The United States looks set to allocate $20 million in military aid to the Baltic states in 2001, although the award may yet be jeopardized by a dispute between the U.S. Congress and the president over the federal budget in the run up to the presidential election.

The inclusion of the funding in the Foreign Operations Appropriation bill passed by the Senate and House conference committee reverses an earlier move to use the money to help relieve the world's poorest countries of their debts.

But U.S. commitment to the Baltics' membership bids remains questionable, regardless of who wins the presidency, says one expert.

In addition to the military aid allocation an amendment expressing reduced support for the Baltic states' intention of joining NATO was removed from the bill. Financial assistance totaling $5 million was also allocated to energy, environment, anti-corruption and legal reform programs in the Baltic states, and $3 million was earmarked for training in combating organized crime. Funding for the establishment of an FBI office in Vilnius was also granted.

The California-based Baltic American Freedom League claimed credit for the restoration of the military aid - $2 million more than requested by the U.S. administration - and the granting of the other awards. The organization mounted e-mailing, letter-writing and petition-signing campaigns, it said.

Janis Sarts, of the Latvian Ministry of Defense said he expected the three Baltic states to receive roughly equal portions of the money, as with previous allocations.

The governments of the Baltic states believe the United States is committed to NATO expansion, as stated by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott in a speech in Tallinn in January 2000. Given the United States' crucial influence on the development of NATO, establishing links with the new administration must be a priority, said Sarts.

But while the United States supports the Baltics' hopes of joining NATO, it is also keen to avoid antagonizing Russia, says Edward Rhodes, associate professor at the University of Latvia and director of the Center for Global Security and Democracy at Rutgers University in the United States. As recently as October, in an interview with Russian and French media, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his opposition to NATO enlargement and questioned the need for the organization's existence following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc.

The U.S. view Rhodes describes differs from that of some Latvian MPs, for whom the country's large ethnic-Russian community symbolizes a security threat. The $20 million military aid package is relatively modest, he points out.

"The old-fashioned security issues are not the most pressing security issues," said Rhodes.

"No one sees war on the horizon. The United States' real concerns are keeping social, political and economic development on track. A hardened Russian position might push the United States to support earlier accession, but unnecessarily antagonizing Russia would not only be bad for NATO but bad for the Baltics as well. The United States wants to make sure NATO enlargement happens through a process that stabilizes the region as a whole, by trying to work with all countries in the region."

But the governments of the Baltic states see no contradiction between joining NATO and promoting regional stability. Security has not been decreased by the expansion of NATO that has already occurred, they say.

"Relations between Russia and the new NATO members - the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - haven't worsened," said Harri Tiido, deputy under secretary at the Estonian Foreign Ministry.

"Instead their relations have become more stable. Attitudes to Russia there have improved."

Rather than being a passive recipient of NATO protection, Lithuania's membership will add to the stability of NATO and European Union countries, says Petras Zapolskas, director of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry's information and culture department.

"Our good relations with Poland, Russia and Belarus are well known, so our contribution will not be small," said Zapolskas. "We're creating a stable environment in this part of Europe."

Increases in defense spending by the Baltic states and their participation in European peace keeping operations show they will not be a drain on NATO resources, say the Baltics' foreign ministries. Europe must be considered as a single entity for security purposes, says Tiido.

"Our joining NATO will increase Europe's security as a whole," he said. "You can't have the thickest soup in one part of the kettle."