Baltics ask US congress to defy Trump and uphold military support

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Lawmakers from three Baltic nations bordering Russia urged the U.S. Congress on Thursday to reject a proposal by President Donald Trump that would slash about $200 million a year in defence support for the region.

"In this region, if America goes out, Russia comes in," said Lithuania's former ambassador to the United States, Zygimantas Pavilionis, one of 36 legislators from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to sign a joint letter asking for the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI) programme to be maintained.

The proposal to cut the funding comes as Trump pursues his "America First" foreign policy, in which his administration has slashed foreign aid and is pushing European countries to cover more of their own military costs.

Russia's war with Ukraine has heightened concerns in Europe about regional instability and the possibility of further aggression from Moscow, increasing worries along the NATO and European Union border with Russia and its ally Belarus.

The BSI programme has supported the three countries' defence investments by between $168 million and $231 million annually since fiscal year 2018, according to the letter.

Pavilionis, who said he did not know when the Republican-controlled Congress might vote on the matter, said the "Pentagon's punishment of the Baltics is highly illogical".

"We were first to stop buying Russian gas and have been top spenders on defence and on support to Ukraine," he said.

The three NATO and EU members plan to spend 6.3 billion euros in 2025, about 3-4% of their gross domestic product (GDP), almost three times more than before Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

All three expect to further increase defence spending to over 5% of GDP next year.

"Each dollar that is spent for BSI returns immediately in $3 for the U.S. defence industry, because we are co-financing the procurement and we are putting our money into it", Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told Reuters on Wednesday.