Baltic presidents: We categorically reject Russia's disinformation campaign
The presidents of the three Baltic states issued a joint statement strongly condemning border violations by aircraft arriving from Russia and Belarus, as well as Russia's disinformation campaign.
Alar Karis, Edgars Rinkēvičs and Gitanas Nausėda discussed recent violations of Baltic airspace in which unmanned aerial vehicles arriving from the direction of Russia and Belarus crossed into the Baltic states, also violating NATO's eastern flank and the European Union's external border.
"We strongly condemn such violations and categorically reject the ongoing disinformation campaign by the Russian Federation against our countries. As responsible NATO Allies, the Baltic States have never allowed their territories and airspace to be used for drone attacks against targets in Russia."
"We also reject and utterly condemn the threats expressed by Russia against Latvia during the UN Security Council meeting on May 19," the three presidents said in the joint statement.
The presidents added that by spreading baseless accusations, Russia is attempting to divert the international community's attention away from its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and from Ukraine's right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
"The Baltic states remain in full solidarity with Ukraine. We reiterate confidence in NATO, our collective defense and transatlantic unity. We emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong and credible deterrence and defense posture, including through sustained investment and burden-sharing," the statement said.
The statement noted that, as sovereign states and NATO members, the three Baltic countries reaffirm their unwavering readiness to defend their airspace and borders.
"We are prioritizing investments into air defense capabilities. In this context, we emphasize the importance of NATO's enhanced vigilance activities Eastern Sentry and Baltic Sentry, express our gratitude to NATO Allies for patrolling and supporting the Baltic airspace, and call on Allies to reinforce them with additional capabilities," the joint statement said.
The statement added that continued cooperation and the timely implementation of projects such as the Baltic Defense Line and the European Union eastern flank defense cooperation initiative Eastern Flank Watch are essential.
"We emphasize that strengthening defense capabilities on NATO's eastern flank remains a priority, particularly in ensuring robust and credible air defense. We therefore stress the importance of transitioning from an air policing to an air defense mission and enhancing the current Allied presence in our countries with counter-drone capabilities," the presidents said.
"We once again urge the Russian Federation to stop its war of aggression against Ukraine and to commit to an immediate, comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire as a first step towards a just and lasting peace in full compliance with the UN Charter and its principles," the statement added.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Marko Tooming
