NATO had plans to protect Russia from Baltic states: Wikileaks

Military alliance NATO has drawn up plans to defend the Baltic states against Russian threats, United States diplomatic cables released on Tuesday by WikiLeaks showed. An existing defence plan covering Poland was extended to include Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania after they lobbied for extra protection, said the leaked cables, Britain's Guardian daily reported.

The move to defend the former Soviet republics from Moscow risks undermining US President Barack Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with Russia after they were severely tested during the presidency of George Bush.

US officials were fully aware of the sensitivity of the matter, the cables showed -- they urged their Baltic counterparts to keep quiet for fear of upsetting Russia.

Painful memories were stirred in the Baltic states during the Russia-Georgia war of 2008, according to the cables, part of about 250 000 leaked US dispatches being slowly released by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.

"Events in Georgia have dominated the news and discussion here like few other events in recent memory," said a cable from the American embassy in Riga, Latvia, cited in the New York Times, which has also been given access to the leaks.

Latvians, at least ethnic Latvians, "look at Georgia and think that this could easily be them", said the dispatch.

The states have significant Russian minorities, so were alarmed at Russia's explanation for going into Georgia -- that it was protecting the rights of Russian citizens there.

US Admiral James Stavridis, Nato's top commander in Europe, proposed drawing up defence plans for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which had joined the military alliance in 2004, according to the leaked correspondence.