Baltic defense ministers do some crystal gazing

  • 2001-08-30
  • Jorgen Johansson
RIGA - The three Baltic states' defense ministers came together in Riga Aug. 23 to discuss cooperation and the winding road toward NATO membership.

Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik pointed out that the meeting was being held on a symbolic date, the anniversary of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact of 1939, by which Germany and the Soviet Union divided Europe into spheres of interest immediately before World War II, and he said once the Baltic countries were members of NATO, history would not repeat itself.

U.S. President George Bush and French President Jacques Chirac have both used warm words in the last few months when speaking about NATO expansion to the Baltics.

On June 13, during his first visit to Europe since becoming president, Bush urged NATO members to "extend our hands and open our hearts" to former Soviet bloc nations that aspire to join the alliance.

Chirac visited Latvia from July 26 to 28 and was surprisingly open when talking about the future of the defense alliance.

"France can only express its support for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania's desire to join NATO and support their aspirations at the NATO summit in Prague" in November 2002, he told journalists here, while adding that Russian objections were "irrelevant."

All three defense ministers agreed they were now ready to join the alliance.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Linas Linkevicius said the Baltic states are prepared to take risks and defend the values of NATO as well as their own countries.

"We have agreed to make these meetings more frequent and intensify everyday cooperation between our three countries," Linkevicius said.

His Latvian counterpart Girts Valdis Kristovskis agreed. He said he was looking forward to Prague. "We are ready to be fully evaluated for membership.

"There's still a lot of work to be done, however," Kristovskis added. Latvia, the least prepared of the three nations for membership in the alliance, has been slower to raise its defense spending to levels required by NATO.

Luik said Estonia is ready to assume the responsibilities of membership, hinting that defense system upgrading is an ongoing process not only for Estonia.

"Existing NATO members are constantly improving their defenses. This is a process that can never stop," he said. "The three Baltic states are very serious about their own respective defense issues. We had an extremely important discussion on our membership action plans. I hope the Prague summit will lead to something conclusive."

There are, however, voices warning that NATO expansion could have further implications than Chirac's assessment that Russia does not have "the ability, competence, or wish to stop NATO enlargement."

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder is the most prominent Western leader yet to give his backing to NATO expansion to the Baltic states. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Schroder are trying to establish the same kind of close relationship their predecessors Helmut Kohl and Boris Yeltsin had.

Kristovskis believes it is not in accordance with Schroder's role to openly preach for NATO expansion.

"Germany's wartime history prevents the country from taking a leading role in this area, but I believe its leaders will change their opinion five minutes before the Prague summit begins," Kristovskis said.

During the meeting, the ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the operation, funding and administration of a headquarters for the Baltic Battalion, which was established in 1994. BALTBAT is an infantry battalion bringing together officers from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for training and participation in international peacekeeping operations.

The ministers welcomed a Swedish initiative to convene for a meeting of defense ministers from the Baltic Sea region in Visby in September, where they will discuss how to implement the Kiel Initiative on stepping up maritime cooperation.

Luik, Kristovskis and Linkevicius see this meeting as an ideal opportunity for strengthening mutual understanding in the region, raising the efficiency of international search and rescue operations, mine clearance, and improving environmental safety at sea.

The next time the three Baltic defense ministers conduct one of their regular meetings will be in December in Lithuania.