US to continue troop rotations in Estonia, defence minister says

The rotational presence of US troops in Estonia will continue, with a new contingent set to arrive in the country later this summer, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur has stated.

He said the rotational deployment of American forces in Estonia was not coming to an end, Caliber.Az reports, citing Estonian media.

Pevkur explained that the temporary gap in the US military presence was caused by overlapping deployment schedules and an audit launched by the Pentagon.

"When the previous rotation began to leave, and the new one was due to arrive, the process coincided with the Pentagon's announcement of a six-month audit. All processes were paused because it was necessary to determine which unit would arrive and how everything would be organized. We have now agreed that the rotations will continue: there is clarity for the duration of the review, and once it is completed, there will be certainty for a longer period as well," he noted.

According to the minister, Estonia and the United States have agreed that troop rotations will continue.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov