The presidents of NATO members Poland and Lithuania voiced confidence Thursday that allied troops can fully safeguard a strategically vital corridor, which links their countries, between Russian ally Belarus and a Russian Baltic Sea exclave.
Concern over NATO's ability to defend the so called Suwalki Gap, a 70-kilometer (43-mile) wedge joining Poland and Lithuania, has rocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The bottleneck separates Belarus from the Kaliningrad exclave, where Russia's Baltic Fleet — and nuclear-capable missiles — are based.
