Baltic airspace open to NATO

The Baltic countries will fully open their airspace to NATO military activities. The defense ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are planning to sign a declaration of this content at the alliance's summit in Vilnius.The airspace of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will be completely open to the military activities of the allies in the North Atlantic Alliance. The defense ministers of the Baltic states intend to sign a declaration of this content on the sidelines of the NATO summit starting July 11 in Vilnius, the Lithuanian military department announced on Monday.

"The document notes that the allies are given the opportunity to use the airspace of the Baltic countries without restrictions for deterrence measures, enhanced watch and large-scale exercises," the message says.Control in the sky of the Baltic countries, which do not have their own aircraft for this, is carried out by their NATO allies. Since 2004, on the basis of rotation, the fighters of the member countries of the alliance have been based at the Lithuanian Zokniai airbase. In 2014, the second part of the mission was placed at the Ämari air base in Estonia.Lithuania is seeking to review the status of the mission from patrol to combat. The so-called air police control the space above the Baltic states and are not considered a military mission. With a combat mandate, the fighters of the alliance will have other powers. In the event of a crisis, they will be able to participate in hostilities and will be integrated into the defense plans of Lithuania.