Vice-President Mike Pence during a meeting with leaders of the Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, stressed that the United States adhere to the principles of «collective defence» in NATO.
«NATO must be strong and United as never before since the collapse of the Soviet Union because of your unpredictable neighbor to the East,» said Pence. «Russia is trying to redraw the boundaries, to undermine the democratic foundations of sovereign States and to divide the free peoples of Europe.»
The Vice President added that President Donald trump , the United States will oppose any attempts to use threats, intimidation of the Baltic countries or any other member of NATO. «A threat to one NATO country is a threat to all of NATO,» said Pence.
At the same time, Pence expressed the hope that Russia will change its foreign policy, and it will contribute to «improving relations with the United States,» reports NBC.
In September of this year Russia intends to conduct military exercises «Zapad» with 13 thousand soldiers near the border with the Baltic States. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has said that at this time the U.S. will double the number of military aircraft and ground troops in Lithuania. In addition, it supported the decision of Congress to impose new sanctions against Russia.
After the meeting in Estonia Mike Pence will fly to Georgia, and after Georgia will pay a visit to the state, which recently became a member of NATO — Montenegro.
