Baltic, Cooperation, EU – Baltic States, Security
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Friday, 26.04.2024, 22:55
Joint Declaration on Increased Security and Defense Cooperation between the United States, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
Photo: president.lv |
As affirmed at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and populations, as reflected in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. NATO has responded to the changed security environment by enhancing its deterrence and defense posture, including through a forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. The Baltic States appreciate these steps by NATO, as well as the significant and visible U.S. presence in the region, which has demonstrated our collective solidarity and resolve to protect all Allies.
The United States, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania affirm
that we must keep our Alliance strong.
Building on the commitments made at the Warsaw Summit to invest in
robust, flexible, and interoperable military capabilities, and taking into
account the successful example of joint security cooperation since 1993 under
the State Partnership Program, the United States, Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania intend to reinforce and deepen our defense cooperation to promote
regional security.
Building national resilience – including bolstering our
ability to defend against hybrid and cyber threats, improving civil
preparedness, and enhancing protection of critical infrastructure – is an
essential element of collective defense. Therefore, we affirm that we must
focus on aligning U.S. security assistance and deterrence measures, including
the U.S. European Reassurance Initiative, and continued significant investments
by the Baltic States in order to ensure that our mutual investments will
effectively support NATO's deterrence and collective defense, as well as
promote national and regional security and resilience. Furthermore, the Baltic States reconfirm
their commitment to allocate the necessary budgetary resources for defense
spending.
The United States, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania plan to
meet regularly to discuss key common and individual defense and security
priorities, focusing on land, air, and maritime defense; border security; law
enforcement; national resilience; and transnational threats, with the aim to
improve intra- and intergovernmental coordination and create regional
efficiencies. The United States, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania also intend to
continue to explore areas for enhanced joint and regional cooperation in other
security and resilience fields – such as cyber defense, energy security, and
critical infrastructure protection – in existing and relevant fora.
This cooperation is intended to strengthen NATO and promote
regional cooperation, stability, and security. By improving our ability to
address conventional and unconventional threats, including hybrid threats, our
cooperation will enhance individual and collective defense and national
resilience, as well as uphold our collective efforts towards a Europe whole,
free, prosperous, and at peace.