ESTONIA, Latvia and Lithuania have requested more Nato troops on their soil in response to rising tensions between Russia and the West.

“It is necessary because of the security situation. It’s not getting better in our region, so it will be a deterrent,” Lithuanian defence spokesman Mindaugas Neimontas said yesterday.

In a joint letter to the supreme allied commander in Europe this week the governments of the three Baltic states asked for a brigade-sized unit of troops in addition to the current battalion of some 800 soldiers per country.

But Russian EU ambassador Vladimir Chizhov said the Baltic request was motivated by local politics rather than a genuine security situation.

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the request would be “assessed carefully,” but gave no commitment.