(30 Aug 2013) US President, Barack Obama, met the leaders of three Baltic nations in Washington on Friday, saying the countries of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are some of the US' "most reliable allies in NATO".
"Our soldiers sacrificed together in Afghanistan and the Baltic ports continue to help support our troops as we transition the NATO mission (in Afghanistan)," he said.
The deadline for the withdrawal of US and NATO combat troops from Afghanistan is just 16 months away and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is stalling on a deal to keep some of those troops there as backup.
NATO and US military officials want a decision by October so that they can plan, while Obama won't announce troop numbers until a deal is done.
"Today we are going to spend some time talking about our shared commitments to the trans-Atlantic trade and investment partnership negotiations, which will add jobs in the Baltics and the United States," said Obama.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, Dalia Grybauskaite, President of Lithuania and Andris Berzins, President of Latvia, all spoke in turn during the meeting in Cabinet Room at the White House, thanking Obama for his support and expressing an enduring friendship with the American people.
"Recently we've heard a lot of talk about pivots. Today we are on the verge of a new rebalancing of the US focus, this time to the Nordic-Baltic region," said Ilves.
"Our region is one of the most secure, stable and prosperous in Europe. We are proud to be part of it."

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