{"id":249055,"date":"2025-07-08T21:47:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T21:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/249055\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T21:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T21:47:12","slug":"germany-reinforces-baltic-ties-with-strong-security-commitments-during-presidents-visit-xinhua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/249055\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany reinforces Baltic ties with strong security commitments during president&#8217;s visit-Xinhua"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" controls=\"controls\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/202507095139773f3186431a9f516827e8f62f95_CbsbeeE007010_20250709_CBMFN0A001.JPG\"\/>German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 27, 2024. (Xinhua\/Du Zheyu)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Steinmeier described the German navy&#8217;s role in NATO&#8217;s Baltic Sentry mission as a vital contribution to protecting the Baltic Sea and the security of critical underwater infrastructure.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>RIGA, July 8 (Xinhua) &#8212; The German president&#8217;s three-day visit to Lithuania and Latvia underscored the European power&#8217;s strong support for the Baltic region, particularly in the area of security cooperation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier concluded his visit to Latvia on Tuesday, following a stop in Lithuania. In Riga, he met with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics and Prime Minister Evika Silina. Together with Rinkevics, he visited a German Navy vessel participating in NATO&#8217;s &#8220;Baltic Sentry&#8221; operation in the Baltic Sea.<\/p>\n<p>At a press conference at Riga Castle, Steinmeier described the German navy&#8217;s role in NATO&#8217;s Baltic Sentry mission as a vital contribution to protecting the Baltic Sea and the security of critical underwater infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" controls=\"controls\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/202507095139773f3186431a9f516827e8f62f95_CbsbeeE007010_20250709_CBMFN0A002.JPG\"\/>Edgars Rinkevics speaks at the inauguration ceremony at the parliament house in Riga, Latvia, July 8, 2023. (Photo by Janis Laizans\/Xinhua)<\/p>\n<p>For his part, Rinkevics called Germany an irreplaceable NATO ally for Latvia in the Baltic Sea region, especially in protecting critical underwater infrastructure, according to a press release from the Latvian presidential office.<\/p>\n<p>Rinkevics also expressed Latvia&#8217;s interest in deepening economic cooperation with Germany, especially in the defense industry, where Latvia is actively pursuing expanded cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, during his visit to Vilnius on Sunday, President Steinmeier pledged Germany&#8217;s commitment to Lithuania&#8217;s sovereignty, stating: &#8220;Your security is our security.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" controls=\"controls\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/202507095139773f3186431a9f516827e8f62f95_CbsbeeE007010_20250709_CBMFN0A003.JPG\"\/>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Front) attends an inauguration ceremony of the German 45th Armored Brigade &#8220;Lietuva&#8221; in Vilnius, Lithuania, on May 22, 2025. The German 45th Armored Brigade &#8220;Lietuva&#8221; was officially inaugurated on Thursday afternoon in Lithuania, marking the first permanent deployment of a full German military brigade outside national borders since World War II. (Photo by Alfredas Pliadis\/Xinhua)<\/p>\n<p>Germany has officially deployed the 45th Armored Brigade &#8220;Lietuva&#8221; in Lithuania, marking the first permanent stationing of a full German military brigade outside national borders since World War II. During the brigade&#8217;s inauguration on May 22, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized his government&#8217;s dedication to NATO&#8217;s eastern flank, saying this deployment signals Germany&#8217;s leadership in the region&#8217;s defense.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, 500 German troops are deployed in Lithuania. The full deployment, comprising approximately 5,000 soldiers and civilian personnel, and necessary equipment and supplies, is expected to be completed by 2027. \u00a0\u25a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 27,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[473,2000,299,1824,1113],"class_list":{"0":"post-249055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-defense","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-germany","12":"tag-latvia"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}