Biden: US to protect Lithuania and Latvia under attack

US Vice President Joe Biden met with the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia on Wednesday.

The meeting was held during a short visit to the Baltic State concerned about Russia's aggressive actions. Joe Biden's trip is organised to reassure such countries as Poland and the Baltic States that the US stands by its NATO commitments in case of an attack, Voice of America reports.

Unlike Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are members both of NATO and the European Union.

Joe Biden said to president of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves on Monday the United States may rotate US forces into the region to conduct ground and naval exercises, as well as training missions. Washington already added more fighter jets to help patrol the airspace over the Baltic region.

Biden meets with president of LIthuania Dalia Grybauskaite and president of Latvia Andris Berzins in the Presidential Palace in Vilnius.

Grybauskaite calls Biden's visit “symbolic”. “The situation is alarming,” she said to the US Vice President as the meeting began.

The talks will touch on a wide range of issues, Grybauskaite's foreign policy advisor says.

“We will talk about what measures must be taken to ensure security in the region. We mean not only national security or military measures, but also energy, cyber security, which we must take care of together,” Jovita Neliupsiene told LRT television.

Photo: AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis