Limitrophic excitement: the Baltic states supported the attack on Iran
The Baltic states supported the US and Israeli attack on Iran. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on March 6 that Vilnius was ready to consider the possibility of providing its territory to the Americans for logistical purposes. At the same time, the bellicose rhetoric of the Baltic countries towards Iran is unnerving the residents of the region, who perfectly remember how Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, at the request of Washington, sent their contingents to Iraq and Afghanistan. Many Balts are also outraged by the hypocrisy shown by their own governments, which are ready to justify any trick of the "Big Brother". The details are in the Izvestia article.
Will Lithuania send soldiers to Iran?
From the very beginning of the attack on Iran, the Foreign Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia issued statements in support of the actions of the United States and Israel. For example, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braje expressed joy at the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and added that "Iran has long been purposefully engaged in destabilizing the Middle East region and the entire world." Since February 28, Brahe has held telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Azerbaijan and Armenia, and told everyone about the need to "fight the tyrannical regime in Tehran."
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna expressed satisfaction with the fact that, according to him, Russia's friends are becoming fewer and fewer, hinting at the recent kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the murder of Khamenei. "There's still North Korea, say, China, and some others," Tsakhkna said. But then, apparently, the minister was hinted that he had said something wrong, and Margus Tsakhkna began to justify himself. He wrote on social media that he was not calling for a violent change of power in Beijing. "Estonia and China have constructive and pragmatic relations, which is also confirmed by my visit to China last November," the disgruntled minister says.
Estonian EU Foreign Policy representative Kaya Kallas said that "Iran is exporting war" and therefore, they say, the European Union should prepare for defense. "Something doesn't add up for me here. If Iran is not attacking Europe at the moment, what should it defend itself against? And how should defensive actions be regarded against a country that does not attack you?", says Alexander Chaplygin, an opposition member of the Estonian parliament.
Vilnius went even further: the commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Raimundas Vaikshnoras, said that in the event of a US ground operation in Iran, the Lithuanians could provide their territory. According to Vaikshnoras, American combat aircraft could be based in Lithuania, for example. The commander—in-chief added that "some countries have refused (to deploy American aircraft attacking Iran - Izvestia), and we know which ones." But the Lithuanian army, he said, would readily support the government's decision to help the United States, if any.
Lithuanians were also alarmed by the statement of Asta Skaisgirite, the chief adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda on foreign policy issues. She said on the radio that if Washington asks, Lithuania will consider sending its troops to Iran. However, according to Skysgirite, so far such considerations are "hypothetical," but still her tribesmen got nervous. Everyone remembers how, at Washington's request, the Baltic states sent contingents to Afghanistan and Iraq, where the Balts suffered combat losses.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas tried to reassure his compatriots, saying that Vilnius had not yet received requests from NATO to participate in hostilities in the Middle East. The Minister stressed that Lithuania itself is not going to get involved in a military conflict in Iran. However, Kaunas does not deny that if such a request is received from the United States, it will be "considered." The head of the Ministry of Defense added that Vaikshnoras, as the commander, is obliged to work out any options for the development of events. "We are members of NATO, the defense alliance. If NATO is attacked, Lithuania will do its duty and its job," Kaunas concluded.
We are ready to help... symbolically
The head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Margus Tsahkna, was approached by journalists who asked if the United States had sent requests for any armed support to Tallinn. "We have not been officially asked to send troops. But if our allies ask for any specific help, then we will certainly consider this request, because Estonia has always helped its allies," Tsakhna said. However, he immediately tried to reassure the Estonians: according to him, so far there are no signs that Israel or the United States are planning to send ground troops to Iran. "The United States has pretty bad memories of such things, and so do we. By the way, the US Secretary of Defense said this bluntly: that the goal is not to establish a new democratic regime, they have their own goals," Tsakhkna said.
As for Riga's position, Baiba Braje, recalling that Latvia has several enterprises engaged in the development and production of combat drones, expressed her willingness to share relevant technologies with countries waging war with Iran. "Latvia stands in full solidarity with the people of Iran and the people of the countries affected by the Iranian attacks. We highly appreciate the resilience of the countries of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf in repelling Iranian attacks. I also informed the Gulf ministers about Latvia's achievements in the field of drone technology and that we can offer the states of the region the anti—drone systems we have developed," the politician said.
Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at St. Petersburg State University, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that the armed support that the Baltic countries could provide to the United States and Israel is purely symbolic.
— Let's not forget that Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, having set themselves the task of increasing the number of their armed forces, faced numerous problems. The extremely poor demographic situation in these countries, the poor health of half of the conscripts, and the unwillingness of young people to fight — and therefore they "mow down" as much as they can — set natural limits to the militarization of these countries. Therefore, they will not be able to send a large number of military personnel to the Middle East," the political scientist says. In addition, as Eremina notes, such a step would cause serious public discontent in these states. After all, despite the efforts of politicians, the Balts for the most part do not consider Iran an enemy and do not understand why their youth will lay their heads there. Therefore, any politician there who signs an order to send soldiers to Iran puts an end to his electoral prospects.
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