Baltic states on Friday signed an agreement to create a common defence line on their borders with Russia and Belarus, Lithuania’s Defence Ministry said.
“With this initiative, we aim to create an effective set of counter-mobility measures in all three Baltic countries, which are among the most vulnerable to the Russian threat, to effectively disrupt and stop a potential enemy push across the border,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas was quoted as saying in the ministry’s statement.
“This project is of particular importance in the trilateral context of the Baltic states in creating a common counter-mobility barrier. The signing of the agreement will lead to a coordinated implementation of this idea in practice,” he said.
The defence ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia also signed an agreement on the co-development of the HIMARS high mobility rocket artillery systems.
“The joint development of Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian defence capabilities is key to ensuring our regional security. Therefore, the Baltic states’ joint action in the development of the HIMARS capability is of paramount importance. We are actively cooperating with the US on HIMARS integration, personnel training, and maintenance,” Anušauskas said.
Preparation for war
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Monday that the move to create a common defence line on the Baltic states’ borders with Russia and Belarus was a preparation for a possible war.
“This is also a political message – a message from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia that we feel a war coming to us. We understand that Russia will not be stopped in Ukraine, it will go further. And then the Baltic countries will be next,” he told reporters in Brussels ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting.
“It is a preparation for what could happen. And we hope that this will send a sufficient message to our friends and partners in Europe and NATO, that this needs to be taken seriously," he added.
Landsbergis stressed that all countries in the region agree that the time to prepare against possible aggression is very limited.
He also pointed out that “nobody has a timetable to anticipate Russia’s madness”, but its possible new aggression depends on Ukraine’s success.
“First and foremost, it’s Ukraine’s success and Ukraine’s victory. If they succeed, they buy us time. Ukraine is buying us time with its blood, with its lives, with everything it has. But we don’t know how much more time they can win for us,” Landsbergis said.
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