Baltic Countries can trust NATO and the European Union, said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier this Tuesday, March 11th.
During his stay in Tallinn, Steinmeier said he travelled to the Baltic States in order to announce that they will not be left to fend for themselves. He emphasized that the growing tension with Russia is a common problem for NATO and EU.
‘If the weekend passes without a visible change in Russia’s conduct then on Monday in the European (foreign affairs) council we will have to discuss a next stage of measures,’ – he said.
Visiting Riga also falls within his plans for the week.
Even though the German official did not go into details about possible sanctions, his French colleague Laurent Fabiuss revealed that the planned measures would ‘include the freezing of personal funds owned by Russian and Ukrainian citizens and additional sanctions on travel freedom’.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea, NATO has increased security measures in the region. Last week, USA sent six additional F-15 fighter jets to patrol the Baltic airspace.
This Monday it became known that NATO has authorized Airborne Warning and Control System to perform reconnaissance flights over Romania and Poland in order to follow the crisis in Ukraine.
Russian forces have been in control of the Crimean Peninsula since February 28th. Armed soldiers dressed in Russian uniforms have blocked all of Crimea’s strategic objects.
The Crimean parliament plans to hold a referendum on March 16th regarding the possible joining of the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian government and international institutions say they will not recognize the legitimacy of results of a referendum held under conditions of an armed military occupation.
Source: Baltic News Network
http://bnn-news.com/germany-promises-baltic-countries-trust-nato-eu-111258