Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured NATO partners in the Baltic Sea region of Germany’s reliable military defense support during a visit to the region on Monday.
In Riga, Scholz also reacted to Russian plans to carry out tactical nuclear exercises, which were seen in the West as an attempt at intimidation by the Kremlin.
“It is always important to say loudly that nuclear weapons must not be used in this war,” Scholz said in Riga on Monday during his first visit to Latvia as German Chancellor.
In Riga, Scholz met the heads of state and government of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The Chancellor had previously visited the German soldiers stationed in the small Lithuanian town of Pabradė together with the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
The trip is intended to highlight the strategic importance of the Baltic states, particularly in the wake of Russian aggression, and Germany’s commitment to the defense of the three NATO allies.
Scholz said Russia had miscalculated with its invasion of Ukraine.
Instead of dividing Europe and weakening NATO, Scholz said, Russia’s aggression had united and strengthened the alliance.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, together with her counterparts Kaja Kallas of Estonia and Ingrida Šimonytė of Lithuania, welcomed Germany’s military support to the Baltic states on Monday.
All three Baltic leaders called on partners in the European Union and NATO to spend more money on defense in the face of the Russian threat.
“We know that Russia’s goals and its unjustified imperial ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders,” Šimonytė said. “The security of the Baltic states directly depends on Ukraine’s victory.”
Russia is heading toward a long-term confrontation with NATO and the entire democratic world, she said, emphasizing that the common “top priority should be effective deterrence.”
The Baltic states, all members of the EU and NATO, are among Kiev’s most ardent supporters and have expressed fears that the Kremlin’s military aggression will not stop at Ukraine.
All three countries border Russia and were once part of the Soviet Union.
Šimonytė described the increased defense spending of the Baltic states and Poland – all well above NATO’s target of 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) – as a strong example for other allied countries.
Earlier on Monday, Scholz had praised Germany’s increased investments in its defense capabilities during his visit to the military training area in Lithuania: “This is also linked to the decision that investments in the Bundeswehr will account for 2% of our economic output in the long term.” That is us We succeeded this year and will not change again.”
Scholz emphasized Germany’s military commitment and plans to permanently station a brigade in Lithuania.
“Germany stands firmly on the side of the Baltic states. And that means that we protect each other and that all states can rely on us to defend every inch of their territory,” said Scholz.
Germany is continuing to prepare for the permanent Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania, which will consist of around 4,800 soldiers in the future. The goal is for the unit to reach full combat readiness by 2027.
A temporary detachment has arrived. Soldiers from the Bundeswehr’s 10th Armored Division are currently taking part in a major NATO exercise in Lithuania.
Nausėda thanked Scholz for Germany’s commitment to Lithuania’s defense and said the country would ensure that the soldiers had a pleasant reception. But he also urged speed: “We don’t have the luxury of wasting even a minute.”
The future base of the German brigade will be near the border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia, and near the Suwałki Gap, which runs along the Polish-Lithuanian border.
There are concerns that in a future conflict, Russian forces could attack along the Suwałki Gap from Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, cutting off the Baltic states from other NATO countries.
Scholz also met with some of the 12,000 German soldiers who are in Lithuania as part of the large-scale NATO exercise “Steadfast Defender”. According to the Federal Government, the exercises involving a total of around 90,000 NATO soldiers are the largest NATO maneuver since the end of the Cold War.
