Kallas calls for more US forces in Baltics

Russia’s biggest deterrence is the American flag, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told the Financial Times while calling for more U.S. forces to be brought to the Baltics.

Kallas told the newspaper that Nato should strengthen its presence in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania whether Russia invades Ukraine or not.

“The biggest deterrence there is that you have big friends. If you are bullied at school, the bully doesn’t bully you if you have strong and big friends, and it’s the same with deterrence….The biggest deterrence to Russia is an American flag,” she added.

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“What I’m really happy about is that NATO allies have been very united in this stance and [have] not given an inch to Russia,” she told Sky News while talking about the demands Russia has made to roll back NATO troops on the eastern flank.

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Latvia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics echoed Kallas’ call on Monday, writing on social media that it is time for NATO to increase its presence in the region.

“We are reaching the point where continuous Russian and Belarusian military buildup in Europe needs to be addressed by appropriate NATO countermeasures. It is time to increase allied forces presence in the Alliance’s Eastern flank both as measures of defense and deterrence,” he wrote.