Secretary of State Tillerson meets with Baltic ministers

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with the ministers of foreign affairs of three Baltic nations
on Tuesday, March 28, in at the State Department in Washington.

Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser, Latvia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics, and Lithuania’s Linas Linkevicius will also meet with Tillerson later at the National Press Club.

Tillerson had announced that he would skip a meeting with NATO foreign ministers scheduled for April 5–6 in Brussels, opting instead to plan a trip to Russia.

NATO allies were upset, wondering at the new administration’s commitment to the group.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Tillerson agreed to reschedule some of the meetings.

NATO’s Baltic nations are considered to be in some peril, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and seizure of Crimea in 2014.

NATO is expanding its presence in Poland and the Baltics, preparing to supply a rapid-response force of some 40,00 troops.