"The security of the Baltic states is also Germany's security," Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said as he welcomed the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Berlin. He was referring to a plaque on Vilnius Town Hall which reads:
"The security of Lithuania is our security. The defence of Vilnius is the defence of Berlin." The quote comes from a speech he delivered at the formation ceremony of the 45th Armoured Brigade in Lithuania in May last year.
