The U.S. military is continuing to add to its empire of bases. Stars & Stripes reported yesterday that the U.S. European Command has opened a new special operations base in Latvia that will allow special forces to expand operations in the Baltic Region. “This project, along with other important European defense initiatives, represents our continued commitment to our friend and ally, Latvia,” Lt. Col. Juan Martinez, a spokesman for Special Operations Command-Europe, said in a statement. The new base is only the latest in such investments in the Baltic countries, however.
Another project nearing completion in Latvia is a facility that will increase the amount of gear and personnel that can move into the Baltic state for exercises, or in response to a crisis, Martinez said. Another outlay in the region — $10.8 million in improvements to Estonia’s Amari Air Base, which were completed in July — has enabled U.S. Air Forces Europe and NATO to fly more fighter aircraft from the northernmost of the Baltic states.
The Russians can see this growing U.S. military presence in the Baltics as a threat to St. Petersburg and the Russian region that it anchors.
The NATO military threat to Russia has also been expanding in the Black Sea region with U.S. military deployments in Romania and in the Black Sea itself. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova declared, during her weekly briefing yesterday, that NATO military ships increasingly frequently enter Black Sea ports of the Alliance’s allies and partner states, adding that the frequency of drone sorties near Russian borders grows as well. “The infrastructure of Bulgaria, Romania is being upgraded, and offensive weapons are being deployed on their territories. Military drills’ scenarios involve strikes on the Russian territory, among other things,” she continued.
“This gives us serious concern. We are forced to take the growing military activity of the Alliance into account,” the diplomat observed. “The Black Sea region has its own experience of maintaining peace via coastal states’ forces. The emergency of a new actor, who came with obviously not the best intentions shakes the regional stability and drives a wedge between the neighboring countries.”
Zakharova also underscored that NATO pulls Ukraine and Georgia into its activities, “coaching” them to confront Russia during joint maneuvers and drills.
