Story highlights Linas Kojala: NATO is the only thing that keeps Putin away from the Baltic states

Donald Trump calling NATO "obsolete" is causing anxiety in the region, he says

Linas Kojala is the Director of the Eastern Europe Studies Centre, a think tank in Vilnius, Lithuania and Lecturer at Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University. Opinions in this article belong to the author.

(CNN) Walking around the old town of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, you cannot miss a plaque on a historic building. It reads, "Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America."

These are the words of President George W. Bush, who visited Vilnius in 2002. At that time Lithuania had not yet formally joined NATO, nor the EU. In front of a huge crowd, Bush's statement drew chants of "thank you!" For Lithuanians, this was the moment the country fully regained its independence and became a part of the Western family.

With the Welles declaration of 1940, the US refused to recognize the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States -- an act of defiance that is still commemorated in Washington Square in Vilnius each July. It also offered a glimpse of hope for the freedom fighters who ultimately won Lithuania's independence. The young country, together with Latvia and Estonia, became the success stories of post-communist transformation.

With just over 6 million inhabitants, the three Baltics managed to create democratic institutions, market economies and vibrant civil societies. And the role of the US was indispensable.

Not surprisingly, America is still seen very positively in Lithuania. Opinion polls currently show 85% favorability towards the US, and it has never been significantly lower. To this day, for most Lithuanians, the US is the only thing that stands between current peace in the Baltics and bloody Kremlin-led crusades such as those that happened in Ukraine.

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