Most U.S. military personnel who were stationed in Estonia on a rotational basis have left the country. The further presence of the contingent will depend on the results of a large-scale review of U.S. military strategy in Europe currently being conducted by the Pentagon, ERR reports, citing Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.
According to the defence minister, a new American unit is expected to arrive in Estonia in the summer and is, according to preliminary plans, supposed to remain until the end of the year. However, final decisions regarding the size and composition of the contingent have not yet been made.
Answers to these questions are expected from the six-month review of the U.S. military presence in Europe. Despite this, Tallinn expects that another rotation of U.S. troops will still take place in the coming months. Previously, between 500 and 700 American service members were stationed in Estonia, mainly at the Tapa base and other facilities. Their number has now been reduced to fewer than 100. The U.S. contingent arrived in Estonia from brigades based in Poland or Romania. However, the question of further rotation of these forces, as well as the future of the U.S. brigade in Poland, remains open.
Pevkur noted that the review of the U.S. military presence may take longer than a year. Only after it is completed will it become clear which units will continue to serve in Estonia.
The head of the parliamentary National Defence Committee, Kalev Stoicescu, stressed that the final decision regarding U.S. troops is made exclusively in Washington, regardless of how much allies spend on defence.
The defence minister also noted that he does not expect concrete decisions regarding the U.S. contingent in Estonia even at the upcoming NATO summit. Until new decisions are made, the country’s security will continue to be ensured by its own defence forces and NATO multinational battle groups stationed in the Baltic states.
