Visit to the EU’s external border: “NATO remains vigilant”

For weeks, thousands of people have been trying to get from Belarus to Poland or the Baltic states. The EU and NATO have now assured the countries of their support on the ground. Lithuania, on the other hand, called for a rethink.

In the migration crisis on the EU’s eastern external border, the EU and NATO have assured the member states there of their support. “I would like to assure you of the EU’s full solidarity with Lithuania, Poland and Latvia in these very challenging times,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a visit to Lithuania. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also emphasized after a meeting with President Gitanas Nauseda in the capital Vilnius that no NATO ally was left to fend for itself.

The EU accuses the authoritarian Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of targeting people from crisis regions to be flown into Minsk in order to smuggle them into the EU. Von der Leyen spoke of a “deliberate, cynical and dangerous hybrid attack”. Stoltenberg said the Lukashenko regime was using innocent people to put pressure on neighboring states. Both announced that they would strengthen cooperation between the EU and NATO.

Lithuania: NATO should reconsider relations with Belarus

Lithuania’s President Nauseda calls on NATO to reconsider relations with Belarus. The country’s military is increasingly integrated into the Russian armed forces, said Nauseda. “This poses new challenges for NATO, and NATO should adjust its plans, strategy and tactics accordingly in order to be ready to respond.” Nauseda said Belarus would continue to test the unity of NATO and the European Union. This also applies to the ability to react and counter hybrid attacks.

Von der Leyen praised Lithuania for dealing with the crisis. Von der Leyen announced that the EU will make 200 million euros available to Lithuania, Latvia and Poland for border security this year and next. Stoltenberg, in turn, called on Russia to ease tensions. “NATO remains vigilant,” he said. “We are ready to defend our allies.” He also referred to an “undeclared and unjustified” deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. Russia had denied such allegations.