Dear friends of peace!

My name is Alvis Petus.

Obviously, you were disappointed with the news about the resumption of the DEFENDER-Europe 20 exercise, which will be held at the Dravsko-Pomorsk training area in Poland from June 5 to 19 in a new “+” format, so was I.

This exercise has an extremely negative impact not only on Germany which is turning into a corridor for free movement of American troops and equipment. But also on the Baltic States, which are located directly on the Eastern flank and are corny victims of the global Russia-NATO confrontation (read the USA).

Unfortunately, the political leaders of the Baltics do not understand the gravity of the situation or simply do not have the political will to object to Washington.
It is quite clear that the political leadership of Poland initiated the escalation of tension in relations not only with Russia, but also with other countries, including Germany. Warsaw is constantly in favor of an endless strengthening of the U.S. military presence in the country, concerning additional troops, equipment, or a full-fledged U.S. military base. By the way, Polish leadership doesn’t argue with a statement of the American ambassador in Poland Georgette Mosbacher about the possibility of U.S. nuclear weapons deployment on its territory.

At the same time, our leadership (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) does not want to spoil relations with the United States, being in their full financial and political dependence. Therefore, our politicians also begin to make similar requests if Poland deploys U.S. troops. Such provocative actions against our neighbors destabilize the situation in the region, jeopardize the regional security system and make NATO’s full-scale military conflict with Russia in central Europe and the Baltic region more and more real.
However, any protests and dissatisfaction of citizens with the government’s ongoing policy of the endless militarization of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are strictly monitored, punished and suppressed by the authorities. The principle of freedom of speech and the press is simply ignored!

Honestly, looking at your stormy and such important activity in this difficult time, I want to express you some words of support and sincere gratitude. It is nice to see that the government hasn’t closed your mouth, that there is a country (Germany) where people are not afraid and can freely express their opinion!

In this regard, I would like to turn to you with a bold request! Looking at the schedule of your planned events, we noticed that they have various slogans and banners. Given the fact that the Baltic countries are located directly on the borders with Russia, local residents are on the verge of panic due to the upcoming DEFENDER-Europe 20 exercise. The borders to the Germany are closed. Unfortunately, no one can get through Poland to the Germany – not even a journalist. Activists like me are unable to express their position due to strict censorship and restrictive measures in connection with the coronovirus pandemic. Therefore, we would like to ask you to mention your like-minded neighbors in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia during your events in Berlin. Perhaps, you could demonstrate flags of these countries, a banner (see the attached files: “Stop! DEFENDER-Europe 20 Plus!”, “HANDS OFF THE BALTIC STATES!”) or something like that. That is the way you could show to ordinary people living in this countries that they are not alone. To inspire almost dying hope in the peaceful future of our children.

In our turn, we are ready to actively distribute any photo and video materials from your speeches on the Internet in order to widely cover your activities and attract public attention to this problem.

We, like you, do not want a war, do not want any confrontation between world centers of power and do not want to become puppets in global confrontation! The civilians of the Baltic States, like the Germans, want peace, tranquility and prosperity!

My article: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/03/06/europeans-protest-the-u-s-does-not-care/

Sincerely yours,
Alvis Petus

Download Stop-DEFENDER-Europe20-plus.pdf