Panel on Baltic security held as part of NATO Ankara summit

A panel titled Why Narva Is Not Next: Examining Assumptions About Baltic Vulnerability was held on Tuesday as part of the “Allies in Ankara” program, organized in cooperation with Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, the Munich Security Conference (MSC), and the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), within the framework of the 36th NATO summit.

The panel, moderated by the Baltic International Centre for Security Policy, took place at Ankara Palas.

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze, Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to NATO Darius Jauniskis, and Martin Roger, political director at the Estonian Foreign Ministry, attended as speakers.

Braze said Russia is not ready to challenge NATO but is willing to create “false dilemmas,” stressing that allies must not lose seriousness on security and defense.

Noting that NATO has had an impact on how allies work together, plan, prepare and shape defense plans, Braze urged the alliance to ensure that it invests internally in domestic security, borders and intelligence cooperation that trusts itself as NATO and that deterrence works.

Braze said they have been exposed to external interference and disinformation operations aimed at weakening support for Ukrainians.

She also said that people in her country, regardless of origin, want to be part of the Latvian state, adding that despite different ethnic backgrounds, people want to defend the country.

- Criticism of Russia

Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to NATO Jauniskis said they do not see Belarus as “separate” from Russia, arguing that Minsk is entirely dependent on Russia’s energy, money and support.

Referring to the issue of meteorological balloons entering Lithuania from Belarus and also carrying smuggled cigarettes, Jauniskis said these caused serious security problems.

Jauniskis also alleged that Russia and Belarus are spreading propaganda with false information about his country’s history.

Estonian official Roger drew attention to cybersecurity, saying state institutions are fighting this threat and that public resilience has increased as a result.

Roger said Narva, Estonia’s city on the Russian border, is not Moscow’s next target.

“I believe the deterrence we have built in Estonia, both nationally and together with allies, has brought us to a point where the Russians cannot really risk taking such a step in Estonia,” he said.

Emphasizing that Estonia has made significant investments in border security, Roger noted that 81 percent of Estonians believe the country should resist in the event of an attack.