TALLINN. April 2 (Interfax) - Estonia has proposed that its airbase in Amari near Tallinn be used for deploying additional NATO aircraft to protect the airspace over Baltic countries.
The Amari airbase is ready to contribute to the mission to protect Baltic airspace, the Estonian Foreign Ministry quoted Foreign Minister Urmas Paet as saying at a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.
He thanked the Allies for increasing the number of aircraft involved in protecting Baltic airspace due to the events in Ukraine.
Instead of four planes, as was the case recently, ten U.S. fighters are involved in the mission now, and the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, and Germany have signaled their willingness to augment the presence of the NATO air force in the Baltic countries, Paet said.
At the same time, Estonia believes the NATO allied troops should be present in the region and provide stronger defense to Estonia and other Baltic countries on a long-term basis rather than only during crises, he said.
Paet stressed the importance of expanding NATO's cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia.
Estonia backs broader political and practical cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia, and NATO's support is especially important in developing the Ukrainian defense sector, holding joint exercises, and more extensive training programs in Ukraine, he said.
Paet said NATO has suspended all cooperation with Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis.