[ad_1]
As we celebrate our 20th anniversary as a member of NATO, our nation has never enjoyed greater collective security in our history, nor have we faced more dire threats. This is a security paradox for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where we lead diplomatic missions in London.
We joined the Alliance at a time when there seemed to be few clouds geopolitically. We didn’t see it that way. Our warnings about the potential and growing threat from the east were easily ignored by some Allied capitals. We knew then, as we know now, that only collective self-defense could guarantee Europe’s security. This was lacking in the 1930s and came at a great price. That’s what Ukrainians are currently paying. The suffering they experience under Russian occupation – deportation, torture, child abduction, cultural erasure – awakens our own darkest memories and fears.
Over the past 20 years, we have done much to strengthen the security of our country and our allies. All three Baltic states spend more on defense than the NATO standard of 2% of GDP. We have provided the most assistance to Ukraine of any NATO member relative to our size. We have supported our allies by proudly sending our sons and daughters to fight alongside NATO members in places as far away as Iraq and Afghanistan. And our allies stand with us, too. The Baltic states host British, Canadian, German, American and other militaries as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence, a multinational tripwire force. We are also committed members of the UK-led Nordic regional security framework, the Joint Expeditionary Force. With Finland and now Sweden joining NATO, our homeland in the Baltic Sea is better protected than ever before.
NATO has grown stronger, but so have the ambitions of our enemies. Russia is the greatest threat to Euro-Atlantic security and therefore should not be allowed to win the Ukraine war. We are determined to support Ukraine until victory.
At last year’s Vilnius summit, alliance leaders made it clear that Ukraine’s future lies in NATO. We want it as soon as possible, not only to protect our friends from Russian aggression, but also for all countries in the Euro-Atlantic region. As a veteran ally, Ukraine will make a significant contribution to our national security. A clear path to Ukraine’s membership must be a top priority at the Alliance’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington this summer.
NATO has a lot of work to do on other fronts as well. We are keenly aware that Russia’s war economy and battle-hardened military can quickly pivot from south to west. We agree with the intelligence community’s assessment that a sharp strategic challenge to our nation’s defense and deterrence capabilities could occur as early as three years or less. Living on the east side of the Baltic Sea, we have little natural frontier and nowhere to retreat. Even if we can stop traditional attacks, we face other threats. We already experience asymmetric and hybrid attacks on a daily basis.
When existential challenges come, they may seem vague at first, obscured by a blizzard of disinformation and other distractions. In such situations, confusion means defeat. Therefore, we and our allies must be ready to respond quickly, convincingly, and effectively to threats of all types. For this reason, even faster decision-making is required in organizations such as NATO. It also requires all NATO members to invest in troops and equipment to make the alliance’s new defense plan a reality.
Russia’s policy of containment is not an option, but a necessity. The time has come for the Alliance to be proactive in creating strategic dilemmas for Russia.
We in the frontline states are ready to fight with all our might to protect every corner and every soul. NATO must do the same. NATO needs strong leadership and the UK needs to be strong in this regard too.
[ad_2]
Source link
