The defense ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia participated in the seminar entitled "The road of Baltic states to NATO", which took place in Krakow.
Published:
9 January 2001 y., Tuesday
The Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian defense ministers told reporters at the end of an international conference in Krakow that they still hope the three countries will join the alliance despite reports in the U.S. newspaper Washington Times last week that Russia has already moved the tactical nuclear missiles.
Estonia's Juri Luik said that if this information is correct, it would prove a certain instability in the region. The defense ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia told journalists in Krakow that they would demand explanations as to whether nuclear weapons had been moved into Kaliningrad Region. For the time being they have been gathering reports about the issue.The Latvian defense minister "does not see any need for the Russian Federation to station nuclear weapons in this region because the Baltic Sea area and all the states around it are friendly states".
He announced that if the newspaper's report is confirmed, Latvia would demand an international inspection of Kaliningrad Region.
"Russia should be ready to open up all the locks which will help clarify this matter," Kristovskis emphasized.
According to the Lithuanian defense minister, Antanas Linkevicius, sending to Kaliningrad an "international team of experts would be an unjustified step". "Every action that will help us determine the truth is justified. But it is also important how we comment on reports which have not yet been confirmed," Linkevicius said.
Šaltinis:
PAP news agency
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has warned against outside interference in his country's elections, condemning the actions of Russian separatists
more »
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday he would take advantage of a “new era of peace and hope”
more »
Sunday's parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, while more competitive than previous polls, fell short of international standards, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday
more »
Latvian President Vaira Vika-Freiberga will arrive in Russia to attend the Victory Day celebrations on May 9
more »
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, in a Saturday radio program, denied any "tension" in Moldovan-Russian relations
more »
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev started his two-day official visit to Italy on Thursday
more »
US president acknowledges ties with Russia have weakened
more »
US President George W. Bush started off his European visit urging allies to move past Iraq divisions and work together toward peace in the Middle East
more »
Presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan discuss bilateral relations
more »
Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced today that he is forming a broad coalition to challenge the dominant Shi'ite political alliance's conservative candidate for the post of prime minister
more »