"It is important for us that our key Allies, as the United States, share the same understanding of the situation on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, which has an impact on both, the Baltic countries and Europe more broadly," Permanent Secretary of Defense of Estonia, Salm said.
Kahl and Salm agreed to start a regular exchange of information on the situation on the border to prevent an escalation of events in light of Zapad 2021 strategic exercise scheduled to start in Russia and Belarus and with the Russian Federation troops massed on the Ukrainian border, still there.
Permanent Secretary of Defense of Estonia, Kusti Salm emphasized that the developments on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border is not a migration crisis, but a hybrid attack organized by the Belarusian regime with the aim to destabilize Lithuania and weaken Allied unity. It was also noted at the meeting that Russia's role in the current crisis needs to be examined in more detail. In last month, nearly 3,000 irregular migrants arrived in Lithuania, which is almost 33 times more than last year and 66 times more than in 2019.
The talks confirmed the success of this year's NATO Summit and the importance of the Alliance refocusing on its core mission of collective defense. Kahl also emphasized the importance of combining Estonia's maritime capabilities in strengthening maritime defense.
The defense cooperation between the United States and Estonia is close and multifaceted. As part of the U.S. Defender 2021 Europe exercise, the MLRS system was brought to Estonia and a parachute jump with the participation of more than 700 U.S. soldiers took place. At the end of last year, a joint cyber defense operation Hunt Forward, was conducted.
Under the leadership of the U.S., joint exercises involving several types of troops and Allies have taken place in Estonia, and various units and capabilities have been brought to Estonia. In March this year, the Baltic Trident air force exercise took place, which was attended by eight US F-15 fighters and two KC-135 tanker jets. Last summer, a B-52 bomber was present in Estonian airspace and an unmanned MQ-9 aircraft was also stationed in Ämari Air Base, Estonia.
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