BRUSSELS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - NATO must show it is prepared to defend its Baltic members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from any attack after Russia's intervention in Georgia, the U.S. ambassador to NATO was quoted as saying. U.S. envoy Kurt Volker said in Wednesday's Financial Times that the 26-nation Western military alliance must send signals through "planning and exercises" that it intends to help shore up the Baltic states. "Those countries are members of NATO; so if there is any attack on those countries, we will respond," Volker told the paper in an interview. "They are feeling a little rattled by seeing Russia use military force to invade a sovereign, small neighbouring country. We need to send signals to shore them up a little bit. "We will have to make sure ... that the Article 5 commitment is realisable, not just as a political matter, but as a military matter too," he said. NATO's Article 5 guarantees defence of a NATO member by other members of the alliance in the event of attack. NATO has promised Georgia eventual membership of the alliance -- something that greatly angered Russia -- but Tbilisi is not currently covered by the security guarantee. Latvia and its Baltic neighbours Estonia and Lithuania have been strong supporters of Georgia in its conflict with Russia. All four of the small nations are former Soviet states and the Balts particularly have a strong mistrust of Moscow. Russia's intervention in Georgia has cast a pall over recent efforts by NATO and Russia to improve military ties. NATO has said normal contacts are not possible until Moscow abides by terms of a French-brokered peace deal, and Russia has cast doubt on various joint projects between the two. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Mark John)
A Russian armoured vehicle is driven past a housing block in Tskhinvali, the main city in breakaway South Ossetia, September 2, 2008. Russia praised the European Union on Tuesday for taking ...
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