The NATO contingent in the Baltic states is a strong deterrent to Russia, but in reality, Moscow only takes the US military seriously. This opinion was expressed by the director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science (Vilnius), Margarita Sheshelgite at the Berlin conference NATO Talk-2020.
“We need more NATO presence on our territory. We need an American presence, it has a special weight, because there is a belief that only the Americans will effectively restrain Russia and protect us both politically and militarily”, — Sheshelgite said.
Not least she explains this by the fact that the United States, like Russia, is a nuclear power.
“Deterrence is a psychological concept, and we must convince Russia not to want to come to the Baltic countries and create problems for us, since it will cost it dearly”, — Sheshelgite emphasized.
