Agencies-Gaza post
EU member: Baltic Sea ‘becomes NATO sea’
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics on Saturday said in a press release that his country supports Finland and Sweden joining NATO, adding that their addition to the alliance turns the Baltic Sea into “a NATO sea” in a Friday interview with the Financial Times.
Along with his partners in Estonia and Lithuania, Rinkevics asserted his willingness to ratify the membership applications of the two Nordic countries. All three told the Times they would benefit from Finland and Sweden’s military strength, particularly Finland’s US fighter jet fleet.
Despite his absolute approval for the accession of Russia’s northern neighbors to NATO, however, Rinkevics is hoping for more NATO troops in his country. The conversion of the Baltic into a NATO asset “does not change our demands for NATO increase in [the] Baltic region,” the FM said, adding that “there are still issues to be managed” and that “the present security status requires bolder plans by the alliance.”
While NATO sent 1,000 extra forces each to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from European member states earlier this year, the countries have required more, calling for brigades of 3,000 to 5,000 troopers and an air defense upgrade that would let them shoot down Russian planes in case of attack.
