US Defense Sec. vows more military training, troops to Baltic nations

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The United States' Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Wednesday announced that Washington will be conducting more military exercises with Baltic nations such as Latvia, as it offers more military training. He further added that the US may bring in more troops if needed to support the region against Russian threats.

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Austin spoke at a press conference with his Latvian counterpart, Artis Pabriks, revealing that Washington had plans for continuous rotations of forces into the Baltics which will likely use troops from US brigades in Romania and other European countries, in addition to offering to bring troops from the US: “We can also bring in forces from the United States" he said.

This conference would mark the first visit for a US defense secretary in almost 30 years, underlining the increased importance of the Baltic which borders Russia. 

On his part, Pabriks told reporters that one of his top priorities are to get more US enablers, arguing that in order to defend Latvia, his troops need daily "nitty gritty training". 

Pabriks also said that Latvia needs additional financial assistance from the US to buy military equipment, boosting its air and coastal military might.

"Baltic Sea will be controlled by NATO"

Last month, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that once Finland and Sweden join NATO, the Baltic Sea will be under their full control.

"The Baltic Sea is essentially poised to become NATO's internal basin. Two very powerful nations with a long and strong military tradition will become part of NATO soon, extending the Russia-NATO border by 1,400 kilometers [870 miles]," Duda said during a national security council meeting. 

Recently, both NATO and Russia have been keeping a close eye on the Baltic Sea, where Moscow has recently been conducting naval drills and exercises.

In May, Russia withdrew from the Council of Baltic Sea States, stressing that the withdrawal will not affect Russia's presence in the area.

In April, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance may increase its presence around Sweden and the Baltic Sea to "protect the country from Russian meddling during a potential membership application."

"We must remember that from the moment Sweden potentially applies, and NATO says that it wants Sweden to join, there is a very strong NATO obligation to guarantee Sweden's security", Stoltenberg told Swedish public television SVT.

While NATO, in June, conducted military drills coinciding with the decision to increase troop presence in Europe to 300,000, Russia has also been conducting military drills in the sea.