King Felipe VI confirmed this Sunday that Spain will once again deploy an anti-missile battery in Estonia within the framework of NATO starting in September, for a period of four months and supported by a hundred soldiers, in order to repel a possible attack from Russia against the Baltic country.
The monarch has confirmed the deployment of this system of anti-aircraft defense in the speech given this Sunday during the dinner offered by the Estonian president, Alar Karis, on his first stop on the tour that will also take him to Lithuania and Latvia, the other two countries most exposed on the eastern flank of the EU and NATO.
The forecast is that the Nasams (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) model ‘shield’ begin rolling out in “a few weeks”according to the king, so that it is operational from September to December in the structure of the Alliance’s defense system.
“Estonia can count on Spain as a friendas a partner of the EU and an ally of NATO (…) Our commitment to our allies is strong and firm,” stressed Felipe VI at the beginning of the banquet held in the gardens of the Kadriorg palace.
Spain already deployed a battery anti-aircraft in Estonia in April 2023, also for a period of four months, which was extended until the end of the year with the aim of protecting the security of the former Soviet republic. The anti-missile systems are made up of the launchers, the fire control center that directs their targets and the surveillance and target allocation radars.
In this sense, the king has expressed that Spain understands “the serious concern” that the Russian invasion of Ukraine awakens in many parts of the EU, in particular in the Baltic region and in Europe. “Spain may be at the other end of Europe, but believe us, we feel very close to you,” the monarch stressed to Karis.
The new military contribution reinforces Spain’s presence in the three countries bordering Russia, by joining the 650 Army soldiers stationed in Latvia, with Leopard tanks and Pizarro armored vehicles and another anti-aircraft system. There is also a contingent of 190 troops in Lithuania, where Spain contributes eight F-18 fighters and an A400M transport plane to the so-called Baltic Air Police (BAP), also from NATO.
Remember Spain’s commitment to Ukraine
Furthermore, the king has referred to Ukraine and has remembered the Spanish commitment to support in everything necessary for this country to recover “its sovereignty and territorial integrity” and contribute to its reconstruction. Thus, he has highlighted Estonia’s leadership in demanding justice and for Russia to be held responsible for “all the crimes committed” in Ukraine.
At the beginning of his speech, Felipe VI highlighted the specialness of the evening as it coincided with the brightest night of the entire year, a symbolic moment for Estonians. “It marks the triumph of light over the long darkness of the winter months. Its symbolism could not be more appropriate to describe the difficult times we livewith a terrible war in the heart of Europe and with many of our citizens fearful of their future,” said the Spanish monarch.
Before dinner, the two heads of state visited the Kadriog Museum, in the same palace complex, the exhibition ‘Black and White Spain. A vision of Spain. From Fortuny to Picasso‘, which includes works by both these painters and others such as Sorolla, Darío de Regollos or Zuloaga, who created a school between the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th.
Felipe VI began his stay in Tallinn with a meeting with Karis, a visit to the parliament and the aircraft carrier ‘Juan Carlos I’, which has participated in a NATO exercise with other allied countries.
The king He will continue his tour of Lithuania this Monday and will complete it the next day in Latvia, where it will reproduce the same format as in Estonia, with institutional meetings and a visit to the Spanish contingents of NATO missions.
Robles will finally join the trip
The trip has been preceded by controversy, since it is the first time that Felipe VI undertakes an official visit abroad without anyone from the Government accompanying him. However, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles will join the troops’ visit in Latvia on Tuesday afternoon, in the last act of the tour, as reported this Sunday by this department once the monarch’s plane had taken off from Madrid.
