Reuters, JULY 31, 2017— US Vice President Mike Pence on Monday (July 31) told the Baltic states Washington firmly backs NATO’s doctrine of collective defence but called again on NATO members to “take action” and “meet their financial obligations”.

Pence’s comments to the presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, ahead of Russian war games on their doorstep, were clearly intended to reassure following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s early lukewarm support for NATO.

Pence said he regretted Russia’s decision to “limit the US diplomatic presence” there and called on Russia to “reverse the actions that caused the sanctions to be imposed in the first place”.

In retaliation for new sanctions that are to be imposed on Russia by the United States, Moscow has announced the United States must cut 755 diplomatic staff in Russia – about 60 percent – the most dramatic diplomatic demarche between the two countries since the Cold War.

Pence left Estonia for Georgia, where he is due to attend military exercises.