Obama affirms “rock solid” support for Baltic states

“The Baltic nations are among our most reliable allies in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the commitment of the United States to their security is rock solid,” said Obama in Tallinn.

Obama, who is on his way to the NATO summit in Wales, says the alliance will back them up in the face of Russian aggression.

“As NATO allies we will meet our solemn duty, our Article 5 obligation to our collective defence, and today I want every Estonian and Latvian and Lithuanian to know that you will never stand alone,” the US president reassured.

Lithuanian President says Ukraine is fighting for all the Baltic states.

“The open aggression from Russian side against a sovereign country means that there is an attack not only against Ukraine, it is an attack against the peace and borders of Europe after the Second World War. Why? Today Ukraine is fighting not only for its own freedom but is fighting instead of us,” said President Dalia Grybauskaitė.

The Baltic states are expected to press for some kind of deployment of NATO troops at the Wales summit, building on increased air patrols already announced by the North Atlantic alliance this year.