Grybauskaite: We are in a Russian siege, we need to strengthen the defense of NATO
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite called on the NATO leadership to reinforce the US Patriot anti-aircraft systems on submarines to strengthen the defense of the Baltic countries, the newspaper reported Corriere della Sera.
The air defense forces in the Baltic region are not sufficiently echeloned, but the situation can be improved by installing the Patriot anti-aircraft systems on NATO submarines or deploying them directly in the Baltic countries, Grybauskaite told the newspaper.
According to her, Russia, representing “danger number one,” is waging an “unconventional war” against Eastern Europe - only last year it carried out about 15 thousand cyber attacks on energy and economic infrastructure facilities, and interference in the internal politics of the Baltic countries intensified.
The Lithuanian President also called the construction of a nuclear reactor by the Russians in Belarus (just 40 km from Vilnius) “an instrument of threat and geopolitical pressure”.
Those who are far from Russia, of course, can ignore the danger, but not the inhabitants of the Baltic countries, who perfectly remember the "cruel and illegal occupation of the Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine," Grybauskaite said.
Answering the question of how she relates to the upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump, the president said: “With great care.” According to her, the big results from the summit do not have to wait, but there are concerns about the "unpredictable consequences", because Putin is much more dangerous than the same Kim Jong-un.
The air defense forces in the Baltic region are not sufficiently echeloned, but the situation can be improved by installing the Patriot anti-aircraft systems on NATO submarines or deploying them directly in the Baltic countries, Grybauskaite told the newspaper.
According to her, Russia, representing “danger number one,” is waging an “unconventional war” against Eastern Europe - only last year it carried out about 15 thousand cyber attacks on energy and economic infrastructure facilities, and interference in the internal politics of the Baltic countries intensified.
The Lithuanian President also called the construction of a nuclear reactor by the Russians in Belarus (just 40 km from Vilnius) “an instrument of threat and geopolitical pressure”.
Those who are far from Russia, of course, can ignore the danger, but not the inhabitants of the Baltic countries, who perfectly remember the "cruel and illegal occupation of the Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine," Grybauskaite said.
Answering the question of how she relates to the upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump, the president said: “With great care.” According to her, the big results from the summit do not have to wait, but there are concerns about the "unpredictable consequences", because Putin is much more dangerous than the same Kim Jong-un.
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