Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, and Polish parliament members have called on NATO to stay united in the face of the growing Russian threat and not to give in to its demands.
The Baltic and Polish MPs have sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Gerald E Connolly, and NATO countries' parliamentary committees on foreign and security policies.
The letter was initiated by the chairs of the Lithuanian parliamentary committees on National Security and Defence, as well as Foreign Affairs.
In their letter, the MPs wrote that Russia’s demands to NATO contradict the states’ right to self-determination and go against the alliance’s open-door policy.
“Ukraine, Georgia, and other states have the right to choose their own security course, and neither Russia nor any other third country has a say in the admission of new members to NATO,” said Laima Liucija Andrikienė, chairwoman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“Russia’s demands are nothing less than an attempt to return to the days when Europe was divided into the major powers’ spheres of influence,” she added.
The letter also stressed that the security of NATO members is indivisible and that the defence of the Baltic states and Poland cannot be linked to Russia’s actions on the Ukrainian border.
In December, Russia demanded that NATO provide legal guarantees that the Alliance will not offer membership to Ukraine or any other former Soviet republic and will not deploy its forces and weapons there.
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