The Baltic Assembly has always paid enormous attention to the issues of international security and the sovereignty of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic Assembly was a crucial political forum insisting on withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic States as soon as possible and was instrumental in paving the three nations’ path towards NATO membership.

The history of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has proved the obvious advantages of jointly securing the Baltic States’ national defence. One of the most challenging spheres of the defence sector is the protection of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian air space, including air policing. NATO allies guarantee that they will provide our air space surveillance until the year 2018; thereafter, the Baltic States themselves will have to ensure their air space security.

The Baltic Assembly,

in view of the crucial strategic importance of protecting the airspace and of the enormous expenditure involved, as well as taking into consideration the fruitful experience of past military cooperation and the time needed to train military aviation specialists,

calls on the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania:

–    to continue intensive trilateral consultations in order to seek the best possible economic, political and military solutions for ensuring Baltic air space security after 2018;

–    to set a concrete time-table for meeting the challenge so that the final decision on the solution is taken by the end of 2010 at the latest.

Riga, 24 November 2007