PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you.
Today, I’m honored to host the President of Estonia, the President of Latvia, and the
President of Lithuania at the U.S.-Baltic Centennial Summit.
Thank you all for traveling to the White House for these really important discussions.
We’ve just spent a long time together, and it was very interesting.
This summit proudly displays to the world America’s deep and lasting friendship with
the Baltic nations.
On behalf of the American people, thank you very much.
And we are going to have another 100-year — a very long and beautiful relationship.
This is your 100th year of independence.
Congratulations.
For a century, the United States has stood with the people of the Baltics in support
of their independence, sovereignty, and self-determination.
Through the decades of brutal Soviet occupation, the United States never ceased to recognize
the sovereignty of the Baltic republics.
In our discussions today, I was proud to reaffirm America’s commitment
to the Welles Declaration of 1940 and the U.S.-Baltic Charter of 1998.
These same principles lie at the heart of America’s approach to world affairs,
honoring the right of peaceful citizens and nations to protect their interests
and chart their own wonderful destinies.
All three Baltic republics are committed NATO Allies.
I want to express our gratitude to each of your countries for fulfilling your full obligations
and meeting the 2 percent GDP benchmark for national defense this year.
Your commitment to burden sharing is an example, really, that other NATO nations and partners
all around the world will have to all get together and bear.
Some of them do not make the same commitment.
Hopefully, they soon will.
When nations are committed to peace and to security, they have to pay their share.
And we will all enjoy a much more safe and prosperous future.
Baltic countries are also providing security assistance and training
as part of the coalition to defeat ISIS.
The coalition has liberated almost 100 percent of the territory once held by ISIS in Syria
and in Iraq, and we will not rest until ISIS is gone.
In economic matters, our cooperation continues to develop and grow, as you well know.
We’re excited about several new opportunities for collaboration, especially in science,
medicine, and technology.
Immediately following this summit, the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
will host a U.S.-Baltic Business Summit to expand mutual trade and investment
between our nations.
And they’re all looking forward to seeing you.
The Baltic countries remain a key market for U.S. aircraft, automobiles, machinery, and
medical equipment.
And we welcome increased bilateral trade with all three nations based on the principle of
fairness and reciprocity.
Finally, we are enhancing our cooperation on energy security.
We’re all collaborating to diversify energy sources, supplies, and routes throughout the
Baltic region, including expanding exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, of which you’ve
become a bigger and bigger user.
These are just some of the many wonderful opportunities we can seize together.
To all three Baltic leaders with us today, thank you again for helping to celebrate.
And this is really a very great celebration because it’s a historic milestone.
Our friendship will continue to grow closer, and our cooperation will continue to bring
about the greater security and prosperity for our citizens.
And you have done terrific jobs as leaders, as Presidents of your countries.
And we tell you that, for your citizens, we are there for you.
As we begin the next 100 years of our partnership, the Baltic republics can
trust the United States will remain a strong, proud, and loyal friend and ally.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Please.
PRESIDENT GRYBAUSKAITĖ: Probably, it’s my turn?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yes.
Whatever you like.
PRESIDENT GRYBAUSKAITĖ: It looks so.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Ladies first.
PRESIDENT GRYBAUSKAITE: (Laughs.)
So, of course, we’re very thankful for the possibility to be here, especially, and not only, because of
our anniversary in our region, but because of alliance which we are reaffirming today
with United States by adopting the declaration,
where we say that Article 5 is ironclad for all of us,
and the collective defense issues are important to all of us.
And we understand how important NATO is for all of us, and why we, during our discussions,
talked so much about the reforming for — reforming NATO, the investment into our defense,
the amounts necessary to invest into our defense, and, of course, together where it is necessary
all of us.
And Lithuania is with the United States on fighting the terrorists through all the world.
We — back in Afghanistan.
We in Mali.
We in Central African Republic.
We in Kosovo.
We in Ukraine together.
So we are partners, allies, and trustful allies.
And because of that, we are sure that the reforms of NATO, which we are investing together
and preparing together, will be resultative as it was before, but especially now,
because we are seeing United States leadership.
We’re seeing the willingness of United States to see different NATO, different quality of NATO.
And I can be, probably, open.
We talked to the President.
I was joke a little bit — joking about that we need leadership sometimes for decision-making,
even unpredictable leadership, to make enough leverage and pressure for the rivals to believe
that we can make a decision.
And that’s, we think, this kind of leadership in President Trump.
And this is good, because without the leverage and pressure, there will be no additional spending
in our defense, in NATO.
There will be no additional decisions for rotating military forces of United States
in our countries.
There will be no willingness to look into the matter of air defense, which we need very much.
So from all this point of views, we trust that our partner and ally is investing seriously
in the future of our defense, not only our regions but NATO’s territory defense,
and in the peace and security of the world as it was before.
Of course, the businesses are coming together.
Ally in military cooperation, in those with economic cooperation.
And I am very happy that today, in our business forum, we will sign two agreements with two
American companies on the liquid gas cooperation.
Lithuania has a liquid gas station and factory, a so-called “floating boat.”
But we can be independent, all three Baltic States, on the gas supply because of that.
And this gives us strength and possibility to make our own decisions,
not to depend on one supplier.
And American liquid gas will come on time, and will make us more independent
in our decision-making and diversifies our gas supply.
And this is about a real friendship, about real cooperation between our region and United States.
And this comes also together with trade matters, where today we see some discussions on the
wealth level between United States and European Union.
We are together with the decisions that trade needs to be useful and equally fair to all sides.
There is no sense to go to the war.
But decisions — if there is disbalances, need to be find.
And this we will support as ally of United States.
So, together with international obligations in military, together with cooperation in economy,
together with the United States and the European Union in solving the trade disputes and issues
— we are standing with and together.
And we hope that, as the President said, next 100 years will be even better, closer, together,
and we will be able to achieve and make more.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Please.
PRESIDENT VĒJONIS: Your Excellency, President Trump, my esteemed Baltic colleagues,
dear friends, the Baltic-U.S. President summits are a reaffirment of our shared commitment
to fundamental values, our long-lasting friendship, and the steadfast partnership
that we have enjoyed for nearly a century.
The United States of America is our closest friend and ally.
I appreciate that we have each other’s mutual support in our endeavors as well as in the
security challenges we are facing.
Today, we reflected on our many achievements and set a course for our future undertakings.
We have agreed to enhance our defense and security cooperation.
The Baltic States appreciate the United States commitment to deterrence policy in the Baltic
region and the military assistance provided to our forces.
We will continue to commit 2 percent of GDP towards the development of our military capabilities
for the purposes of both strengthening NATO’s posture in the eastern flank and contributing
to international security.
The Baltic States and the United States acknowledged the need to continue the successful existing
cooperation we have encountered in modern-day security threats such as terrorism, cyber
and informational warfare, and nuclear proliferation.
Today, all of us committed to placing greater emphasis on advancing our economic and trade
and investment relationship.
We recognize great potential in areas of innovation, modern technologies, and the digital economy.
And we will explore possibilities for forging new partnerships to this end.
I am particularly proud of successes of Latvian companies that have generated more than 2,000
jobs in the U.S. — in Georgia, in North Carolina, in California.
It just shows how important is this economic cooperation.
And finally, the Baltic States and the United States agreed to continue promoting closer
people-to-people contacts, because these contacts are very important for every member of our society.
And let me stress that President Trump was an outstanding host today.
Thanks for hosting us in this — for us — in this very important event when we celebrate
100 years anniversary of our statehood.
Thanks.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT KALJULAID: President Trump, my dear neighbors, dear journalists:
I would like to thank President Trump and his administration for his political leadership
in our region and for the very visible commitment, which has been demonstrated through a number of
high-level visits, also, to our region.
This year, we do celebrate, indeed, our centennial anniversary.
Of these 100 years, for 50, we were occupied by the Soviet Union.
And people in our country got up every morning knowing that there are democratic countries,
led by United States, who have never recognized the occupation of the Baltic States.
Our national flag — the blue, black and white — was waving here in America
throughout these years.
It couldn’t have been done at that time in Estonia.
It was heartwarming.
It was true sign of friendship.
We knew it back then, and we remember it, and we are still grateful for it.
Will be forever.
Today, we agree the declaration also reminding us about the foundations of our relations.
My friends here spoke a lot about what we do.
It’s always worth to remind why we do this.
We believe that peace, security, and prosperity depend on strong sovereign nations that respect
their citizens at home and cooperate to promote peace abroad.
Our partnership is based on principles of democracy, and individual liberty,
and the rule of law.
These things are extremely important.
Today we stand together, likeminded partners and allies.
Yes, Baltic States are quite small, but they are important because of their location,
but not only because of what we do as contributing partners to the global security.
We find it very important to contribute in the counterterrorism fight.
We find it important, since 2011, to spend 2 percent of our GDP on defense.
We find it extremely important to remember that we stand together and we form something
which we call in my office, “an axis of good.”
This is an axis of good.
May it be (inaudible) for you all.
Yes, Estonia and the United States are very different by the size of their economy.
But when we are speaking about digital economies, then this doesn’t matter anymore.
Estonia is one of the world leading nations of digital governance.
And our companies are working with companies in your country to make sure that people
elsewhere could benefit.
This cannot come without cybersecurity.
There is a NATO Centre of Excellence on Cybersecurity in Estonia because we have been attacked
on cyber, long before anybody else.
We still work together, we contribute, and we hope that we are really helpful
to all of our partners.
Yes, we have also more conventional trade which we do together.
People in Walmart going for their preordered packages, in a couple of years will see them
delivered by Estonian-made package delivery robots.
We are proud of this.
And we’re also proud of our legal environment in Estonia which invites business to try and
test new ideas in our place, which is tiny, and then upscale when it makes more sense
to upscale.
This way we work together both on defense matters, economic matters, and always stand
on our common value base.
This is the foundation of our relations.
Thank you for today for making this visible, this axis of good.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.