Joint Statement of the President of the Republic of Estonia, the President of the Republic of Latvia and the President of the Republic of Lithuania on the situation on NATO’s Eastern Flank

We, the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – Alar Karis, Edgars Rinkēvičs and Gitanas Nausėda – have discussed the recent airspace violations in the Baltic airspace where unmanned aerial systems violated our state borders from the direction of Russian Federation and Belarus, affecting 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.

By fabricating baseless accusations Russian Federation is aiming to divert the attention of the international community from its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and Ukraine‘s right to defend itself under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The Baltic States remain in full solidarity with Ukraine.

We reiterate confidence in NATO, our collective defence and transatlantic unity. We emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong and credible deterrence and defence posture, including through sustained investment and burden-sharing.

As sovereign states and members of NATO, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to defend our airspace and borders. We are prioritizing investments into air defence 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. We underline the importance of continued cooperation and timely implementation of projects such as the Baltic Defence Line and the EU’s flagship initiative Eastern Flank Watch.

We emphasize that strengthening defence capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank remains a priority, particularly in ensuring robust and credible air defence. We therefore stress the importance of transitioning from an air policing to an air defence mission and enhancing the current Allied presence in our countries with counter-drone capabilities.

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.