German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that assigning an additional NATO headquarters to the defence of the Baltics is proof of the alliance’s determination to defend every inch of allied territory.
“It is a visible and strong demonstration of NATO’s unity, readiness, and of our collective determination to defend every inch of Allied territory,” he said in Estonia at a NATO ceremony that handed command of allied land forces in Latvia and Estonia to the German-Netherlands Corps.
A New Command Structure
NATO troops in all three Baltic nations as well as northern Poland have until now come under the command of a single multinational headquarters based in Szczecin, Poland. The new arrangement, splitting command responsibilities that were previously consolidated under that single base, reflects an effort to deepen NATO’s operational presence and responsiveness in the Baltic region specifically, rather than relying solely on a broader regional command structure covering multiple countries.
U.S. Pledges Continued Support
The United States will stand with its European allies in the defence of the Baltic countries, the commander of NATO’s land forces in Europe, U.S. General Chris Donahue, said on Tuesday. “You’re ready to do more and following words with action, and the United States will be there alongside you,” he said in the Estonian town of Valga at the same ceremony. “That is how deterrence is built: Not with words from a podium, but with boots in the mud.”
A Coordinated Message
Donahue, who will relinquish his post on Thursday, doubles as chief of the U.S. Army in Europe and Africa. His remarks, delivered alongside Pistorius, underscored a coordinated message from both Washington and Berlin at a moment when NATO has sought to reassure its eastern flank members of the alliance’s continued commitment, even as questions persist in some European capitals about the durability of U.S. military engagement on the continent.
(with input from Reuters)
