VIDEO and PHOTOS: President Obama meets Baltic leaders in Estonia

The US President Barack Obama met with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Latvian President Andris Berzins, and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite in the Estonian capital Tallinn on 3 September.

The presidents discussed the upcoming NATO summit in Wales and stressed the importance of the mutual cooperation in defence and security matters. The presidents also exchanged views on how to support Ukraine in the current crisis.

"We share a common vision and goals for the upcoming NATO Summit. We face a completely new security situation in Europe and we are pleased that this is reflected in many of the Summit's documents. We expect the Summit to adopt the Readiness Action Plan that will guide Allied nations for years to come through a set of practical steps and measures of reassurance and deterrence," President Ilves said in a statement after the meeting.

"We expect it to provide a solid framework for allies to contribute to stronger NATO presence on its Eastern border. Maintaining a persistent presence in this region should include, among other things, increasing the readiness of the Multinational Corps Northeast in Poland and giving it more responsibilities for matters of collective defence. This would help facilitate NATO's rapid reaction in our entire region and bolster security on NATO's periphery," Ilves added.