Estonian defense chief reveals failure of Pentagon meeting

The Baltic states have failed to secure any guarantees from Washington regarding the continued deployment of US forces in the region, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has said. 

Along with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, Pevkur traveled to Washington last week to meet with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Their aim was to convince Pentagon officials to reinforce the US military presence in the Baltic region, which they claim is necessary to counter the threat allegedly posed by Russia. 

Moscow has repeatedly denied having hostile intentions toward NATO states, dismissing such claims as fearmongering meant to justify increased military spending. 

According to Pevkur, US officials declined to promise even the current troop level of about 2,000 in the Baltic states would be maintained. Instead, the ministers were told that any future changes to the American force posture on the continent would be coordinated with NATO and would not come “as a surprise” to Europe. 

Since the meeting, Pevkur has said there are still no signs of an imminent drawdown of American forces in the Baltics. He added, however, that Washington is preparing to review its European deployments in the fall. 

Earlier this year, Politico reported that the US could withdraw around a third of its troops from Europe, equivalent to roughly 20,000 soldiers, according to unnamed NATO officials. The US currently has between 90,000 and 100,000 troops stationed across the continent.

Both President Donald Trump and Hegseth have previously indicated that the US may scale back its overseas presence. They have also called on European allies to increase their own defense spending instead of relying on American support. 

NATO members have since agreed to raise their military spending target to 5% of GDP by 2035.  

Moscow has criticized the bloc’s continued militarization and cited NATO’s policies as a key factor behind the Ukraine conflict. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the spending increases would pose no threat to Russia.