German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Baltic leaders with Ukraine high on agenda
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in the capital Tallinn, as well as the prime ministers of neighboring countries Latvia and Lithuania.
The war in Ukraine is seen as a direct threat to the Baltic states and has been at the forefront of topics of discussion among northern European leaders.
The Tallinn meeting focused on security and defense cooperation, ahead of a NATO summit to be held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in July.
“We have expanded our support in several ways, including the presence of soldiers in Lithuania,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
“This also involves the development of infrastructure, and we have also promised to create structures to always be able to deploy troops there very quickly. We are now practicing it concretely with the team made available for this purpose.”
Although Germany has been widely criticized for being slow to send arms to Ukraine, the country is playing an increasingly active role in NATO and also in the military build-up of its eastern flank, where it promised to reinforce the presence of soldiers of the Bundeswehr.
Prime Minister Kallas said Germany was a vital country for regional security and for resolving the war in Ukraine in such a way that the latter emerges victorious.
euronews Gt
