Lithuania calls on NATO to strengthen its military potential near Russia's borders
Lithuania called on NATO to deploy troops to Russia's borders, amid continued deployment of Russian troops near Ukrainian borders. "NATO must respond not only by deploying its troops to the eastern front, but also by strengthening its military potential. Strengthening the military potential is good, but we should have an algorithm, what to do in the case of scenario A, scenario B, scenario C," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at a joint press conference with the presidents of Ukraine and Poland Volodymyr Zelensky and Andrzej Duda in Stara Huta in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
According to Nauseda, NATO should have a plan of actions for any scenarios that could threaten the security of Eastern Europe. The Lithuanian president also noted that the military integration of Russia and Belarus is already an indisputable fact that has been taking place for a long time. "First of all, NATO must respond to this, because it changes the security situation for the Baltic countries," he said.
As Nauseda explained, the security of Ukraine and the Baltic States is interrelated. "We should not discuss the Ukrainian, Polish or Lithuanian situation separately. It should be a discussion about regional security. And there should be a broad reaction at the regional level," the President of Lithuania concluded.
In October, Western media published reports that Russia began amassing troops along the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that up to 100,000 Russian troops were stationed near the Ukrainian borders. US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland suggested that Russia could invade Ukraine in early 2022. The United States and other Western countries have threatened Russia with the toughest sanctions in case of such a scenario.
Moscow constantly denies information about the impending invasion of Ukraine and, for its part, accuses NATO of arming Ukraine and conducting maneuvers near the Russian borders.
Last week, Russia demanded that NATO guarantee that Ukraine would not be accepted into the Alliance and demanded that NATO stop any military activity in the countries bordering Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry published proposals for such agreements outlining Russia’s demands. The United States said that dialogue with Moscow on security guarantees is possible only in conditions of de-escalation near the borders of Ukraine and in coordination with European allies and partners.