The Baltic air space will continue to be protected,  Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Thursday.

According to reports from Lithuania's Vilnius, the NATO chief made the pledge in a telephone conversation with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis.

Scheffer said the protection of the Baltic air space will continue after Oct. 1 when Denmark concludes its patrol mission. But he did not say which country will take over.

Harald Kujat, chairman of NATO's Military Committee, also said when he visited Vilnius earlier this week that the alliance will strictly implement its patrol plan for the Baltic region on a rotating basis.

Since the three Baltic countries, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia,joined NATO in March, their air space has been patrolled by NATO aircraft.

Belgium was the first country to undertake the mission through June 30, and Denmark took over on July 1.

Britain is supposed to take over from Denmark on Oct. 1, but ithas indicated it can not patrol the region for technical reasons.

Source: Xinhua