US assures nervous Baltics of Nato protection against Russia

US secretary of state Antony Blinken speaks during a joint media conference with Lithuania’s foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Monday March 7 2022 (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)

The US secretary of state Antony Blinken has Monday assured Lithuania of Nato protection and American support as he began a lightning visit to the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine.

The former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are all Nato members and Mr Blinken is aiming to reassure them of their security in the event Russia chooses to expand its military operations.