Unity may close gap between Baltics and NATO

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Baltic countries should set aside political squabbles and pursue a comprehensive cooperation strategy if they expect to join NATO and achieve security in the region, according to political scientists at a Baltic studies conference in Washington, D.C.

The Baltic states should follow Finland's example and become as monolithic in their security policy as that country became in the 1990s, said Hain Rebas from the Christian Albrechts-Universitat, Kiel. The Baltic states are perceived by the West as a united strategic entity, but the countries continue to pursue separate security policies.

"There are preconditions to make the Baltic region more monolithic," Rebas said in an interview with The Baltic Times.

Only the more perceptive administrators and diplomats realize the significance of efficient Baltic cooperation, scholars said.

Natural cooperation hardly exists among the Baltic states, according to Rebas. None of the three nations has asked for a closer mutual assistance through their elected representatives. For example, "there is no political party in the Baltics that stresses Baltic cooperation - it's not a popular movement," Rebas said.

The Baltic states have indeed established different forms of cooperation achieving the best results in the field of defense, according to Rita Peters, associate with the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University. Institutions (such as Baltic Defense College) and military units (such as BALTBAT, BALTRON, BALTNET, BALTSEA) show the success of common efforts.

But the Baltic countries don't see cooperation as an end in itself, Peters argued.

"They don't particularly want to accomplish togetherness," she said. "They have other priorities [such as NATO, the European Union]. The togetherness is much a matter of how to get to those things."

Still, there is a pressure for the three nations to cooperate in their relations with the outside world. The United States in particular, perceives the Baltic countries as one unit, Peters said.

Cooperation among the Baltic states should be given priority over the individual initiatives of each state, Rebas contended. Thus, Estonia's ties with Finland and Lithuania's with Poland should not interfere with their cooperation with Latvia, he said.

"It's in Lithuanian and Estonian interests to enhance the independence and development of Latvia," he said.

The Latvian military has two particular problems - the lack of money and the lack of detailed written plans, according to Milton Davis, European area officer at Maryland National Guard.

Meanwhile, some analysts in Washington suggest that Latvia is left alone at the time when Lithuania has advanced towards NATO, and Estonia towards the European Union.

The Baltic diplomats present at the conference asserted strong support for Baltic cooperation. But they also stressed that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are independent states, not a single entity.

"One does not exclude other," said Miko Haljas, second secretary of the Estonian Embassy to the United States.

Good relations with neighbors are as important to Lithuania as is EU and NATO accession, said Stasys Sakalauskas, Lithuanian ambassador to the United States.

"There are problems, but cooperation will be the priority in future," Sakalauskas said.