Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held in relation to the possibility of establishing a permanent NATO presence in the Baltic states.

Russia's actions in Ukraine represent the most serious security crisis in Europe this century. As a result, NATO has undertaken a number of measures to reassure Allies in Eastern Alliance territory. These include air policing, maritime deployments and exercising. The UK is playing an active role in delivering NATO reassurance measures and has offered additional support in a number of areas. We are contributing aircraft to reinforce the Baltic Air Policing mission and as part of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force. We have also augmented some NATO exercises that we were already committed to and are contributing to additional ones. On Wednesday 25 June, the NATO Secretary General announced that NATO Foreign Ministers agreed to develop a robust Readiness Action Plan for the NATO Summit in September. Allies have not made any decision to base forces permanently in the Baltics.