Senior political figures in the Baltic states have played down reports that the U.S. plans to withdraw its troops from their countries in acquiescence to Russian demands.
The president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, said discussions are underway on the future form of U.S-Europe military cooperation but that there are no signs of a U.S. withdrawal.
“There are no such indications,” he was quoted by state broadcaster LRT as saying.
“Yes, there are ongoing discussions on what the United States’ involvement in Europe could be, but I think that our partners are well aware that NATO’s eastern flank, its security, is perhaps the cornerstone of NATO’s security because this is where the risks related to the activities of aggressors are.”
Lithuania currently hosts around 800 U.S. service personnel as part of a rotational deployment stationed in the country since 2019.
U.K. daily The Financial Times reported on Monday that European officials believe Donald Trump will “most likely agree to withdraw U.S. troops from the Baltic states and possibly further west” as part of a peace deal with Russia over the war in Ukraine.
In Estonia, the defense minister said such reports were mere speculation and cautioned against it. Hanno Pevkur said no such discussions had taken place and that, "for as long as no concrete information is available, I do not wish to speculate," Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported.
The minister put the number of U.S. soldiers stationed in Estonia at around 600. There is a similar contingent in Latvia.
The largest deployment of U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern flank is in Poland, where around 10,000 are stationed as part of the alliance’s presence.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, said after meeting Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday that Keith Kellogg had assured him Washington had no plans to cut troop numbers in Central Europe.
“There are no such indications,” he was quoted by state broadcaster LRT as saying.
“Yes, there are ongoing discussions on what the United States’ involvement in Europe could be, but I think that our partners are well aware that NATO’s eastern flank, its security, is perhaps the cornerstone of NATO’s security because this is where the risks related to the activities of aggressors are.”
Lithuania currently hosts around 800 U.S. service personnel as part of a rotational deployment stationed in the country since 2019.
U.K. daily The Financial Times reported on Monday that European officials believe Donald Trump will “most likely agree to withdraw U.S. troops from the Baltic states and possibly further west” as part of a peace deal with Russia over the war in Ukraine.
In Estonia, the defense minister said such reports were mere speculation and cautioned against it. Hanno Pevkur said no such discussions had taken place and that, "for as long as no concrete information is available, I do not wish to speculate," Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported.
The minister put the number of U.S. soldiers stationed in Estonia at around 600. There is a similar contingent in Latvia.
The largest deployment of U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern flank is in Poland, where around 10,000 are stationed as part of the alliance’s presence.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, said after meeting Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday that Keith Kellogg had assured him Washington had no plans to cut troop numbers in Central Europe.
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