US Gives No Troop Assurances to Baltic States
(MENAFN) Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has revealed that the Baltic nations were unable to obtain firm assurances from Washington about the ongoing stationing of American troops in their region.
Pevkur, along with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, held discussions last week with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to persuade him to bolster the US military deployment in the Baltic area, which they argue is vital to deter a supposed risk posed by Russia.
However, Moscow has consistently rejected such accusations, insisting that it harbors no aggressive aims toward NATO members. Russian authorities have described these assertions as alarmist rhetoric designed to rationalize expanded defense budgets.
Pevkur stated that during the meeting, US officials refrained from committing to preserve the current contingent of approximately 2,000 American soldiers in the Baltic states.
Instead, the regional defense ministers were merely assured that any prospective alterations to the US military presence in Europe would be coordinated within NATO structures and would not happen “as a surprise” to European allies.
Following the talks, Pevkur noted that there have been no indications suggesting an impending reduction of US forces in the Baltics.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that Washington is expected to conduct a reassessment of its European force deployments in the upcoming fall season.
Earlier this year, a news agency disclosed—citing unidentified NATO sources—that the United States might scale back about one-third of its military personnel stationed in Europe, which would equate to nearly 20,000 troops.
Currently, the US maintains a presence of between 90,000 and 100,000 soldiers across the European continent.
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