Fearing Trump’s desertion, Baltics bolstering defenses

With Donald Trump leading in many of the polls for the upcoming US presidential election, his comments about global security and foreign policy have to be taken seriously.

In February, Trump flippantly remarked that he would encourage Russia to do whatever it wanted to NATO states that failed to pay their bills. In a follow-up interview on GB News this week he warned allies “not to take advantage” of the US.

Nowhere is this causing more concern than for the countries in the Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Not only does Trump, sometimes, say that he wants to halt all US military aid to Ukraine, but Trump wants to undercut Article 5 of NATO’s treaty – the principle of collective defense – something that has become increasingly important in the wake of Russia’s aggression.

British military sources are worried that Trump’s remarks will strengthen Putin’s resolve over Ukraine, and could result in his advancing on even more territory.

Even before Trump emerged on the US political scene, the Baltic countries had been especially concerned about Russia’s growing ambitions. They have, after all, been invaded and occupied by Russia before, in 1940, and then forced to become part of the Soviet Union. There are plenty of people who can still remember life in the Soviet Union.

Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Baltic states have been the loudest voices sounding the alarm about the existential threat posed by Russia. All three countries increased their military spending to more than 2% of their GDP, and recently agreed to raise it to 3%.

Building shared defenses

Amid growing security concerns, the defense ministers in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia also agreed in January to set up a common Baltic defense