RIGA, Latvia (AP) — The U.S. will conduct more military exercises with Baltic nations such as Latvia, and look to provide increased training, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday, saying the U.S. may bring in additional troops from America if needed to bolster the region against any possible threat from Russia.
Speaking at a press conference with Latvia’s Defense Minister Artis Pabriks, Austin said plans to do continuous rotations of forces into the Baltics will likely use troops from U.S. brigades in Romania and other parts of Europe, but “we can also bring in forces from the United States.”Austin is the first U.S. defense secretary to visit Latvia in nearly three decades, underscoring the increased importance of the Baltic nations, who sit at Russia’s western edge. They have watched Russia's invasion of Ukraine and fear that they could be the next victims of Moscow’s aggression. The Pentagon said the last defense chief to go to Latvia was William Perry in 1995. Pabriks told reporters that his top priorities are to get more U.S. military enablers, adding that in order to defend his country, his troops need “nitty gritty training” on a daily basis. He added that Latvia also needs additional financial assistance from the U.S. in order to buy new military equipment, and to beef up its air defense and coastal defense.
In two days of meetings in this Baltic capital, just a few hours’ drive from the Russian border, Austin repeatedly re-enforced America's commitment to helping the region defend itself. He met with U.S. troops on Tuesday, including members of the Security Force Assistance Brigade that provides training to allies. He said Wednesday that he is looking to maintain use of the SFAB in the Baltic region going forward.
Austin's visit comes as the Russian war in Ukraine is in its sixth month, as Russia continues to make slow but incremental progress but has met growing counterattacks by Ukrainian forces in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine. Ukraine has also been battling to hold off the Kremlin’s forces in the industrial Donbas region in the east.In a possible escalation of the fighting, powerful explosions rocked a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday and sent towering clouds of smoke over the landscape. Russia’s Defense Ministry denied the Saki base on the Black Sea had been shelled and said instead that munitions had blown up there. But Ukrainian social networks were abuzz with speculation that it was hit by Ukrainian-fired long-range missiles. In a rapid-fire series of meetings on Wednesday with top Latvian leaders, including President Egils Levits at Riga Castle, Austin pledged America’s steadfast commitment to stand with the Baltic region against any Russian aggression. The three Baltic nations - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - are all former Soviet republics, and were seized and annexed by Josef Stalin during World War II .