Russia occupies the honorable first place in the list of threats that the West considers quite relevant
This means that the Russian armed forces are capable of committing an act of military aggression against border states. Threatened should be considered the countries with whose representatives German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met on Thursday in Berlin. His interlocutors were the presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
In fact, it is these republics that most often portray the extreme degree of confusion and fear due to the danger that allegedly emanates from Russia. The Baltic states managed to convince the North Atlantic Alliance of the reality of Moscow’s aggressive intentions and due to this became its members back in 2004.
Steinmeier in Germany is considered to be a politician advocating good-neighborly relations and dialogue with Russia. However, this time the German leader seems to have changed his role. During the meeting, he expressed concern about military tensions on the eastern flank of NATO and assured the Baltic states of the alliance’s solidarity.
“Not a day goes by without Russian military aircraft taking off over the Baltic Sea. More and more often they violate the airspace of your states”, Steinmeier said.
According to him, the situation has become extremely threatening. The risk of incidents since the “illegal annexation” of Crimea and Donbass and the pulling of Russian troops to the Ukrainian border has become as serious as it has not been for a long time. Nevertheless, the interlocutors of the German President have nothing to fear, since the guarantee of their safety is the military-political bloc of Western countries.
“You are not alone in this situation. Whoever threatens the Baltic states, he threatens the whole of NATO, he threatens Germany”, Steinmeier reassured the Baltic states, pointing out that the Bundeswehr leads the NATO contingent in Lithuania, and the German air force, in rotation with other alliance partners, is protecting the airspace over the Baltic Sea. And the potential target of Russian aggression, Steinmeier believes, is all of Europe.