(3 Sep 2014) US President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to come to the defence of Baltic NATO allies that fear they could be Vladimir Putin's next target.
Obama was speaking in Tallinn, following a meeting with his counterparts from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
He described Moscow's aggression in Ukraine as a threat to peace in Europe.
Like Ukraine, the Baltic nations have sizeable Russian-speaking populations, compounding their fears that Moscow could seek to intervene inside their borders.
President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite described the events in eastern Ukraine as an "attack against the peace and borders of Europe after the Second World War."
President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves and President of Latvia Andris Berzins, who also attended the news conference, thanked the US for their support.
The leaders' meeting came a day before the NATO summit, where the alliance is expected to approve plans to station more troops and equipment in Eastern Europe, with the aim of building a rapid response force that could deploy within 48 hours.
Earlier that day, Ukraine had issued a vague statement about agreeing with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ceasefire steps in eastern Ukraine.
The separatists rejected the move, saying no ceasefire was possible without a pullback by Ukraine.
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