„Currently, it is at the consideration stage, there is a discussion, we are answering questions, based on the questions we see that the considerations are varied,“ – R.Kaunas said to LRT radio on Friday.
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As BNS wrote, the United States is currently reviewing the presence of its troops in Europe. More than a thousand American soldiers completed rotation in Lithuania this summer, but some of them remained in the country.
Americans have regularly deployed battalions of soldiers in Lithuania since 2019. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Washington changed its force status in Lithuania to continuous rotational deployment.
These reinforced battalions usually consisted of a thousand or more soldiers with various combat equipment. Lithuania has indicated that it is ready to host up to 1.5 thousand US soldiers.
The minister assured that Lithuania has the infrastructure and capabilities to host more US soldiers, but final decisions will depend on military plans and NATO leadership.
„It should not be tied to a specific number, the principal position itself is that the United States sees Lithuania as one of the most reliable allies, sees that Lithuania has done all the necessary homework. (…) So we are reliable allies, the US values this, discussions are taking place at the technical level, and the final decisions, whatever they will be arranged, they will be stated when it is possible to do so,“ he said.
Lithuania’s ambassador to NATO, Darius Jauniškis, added that Lithuania is definitely receiving positive signals from Washington regarding the presence of US soldiers in the country.
„Certainly, the Americans are not retreating and I think we can be sure that we will indeed have soldiers. They see all the possibilities and the need to have them in Lithuania. The question again is probably details and what numbers we will operate with,“ he said.
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BNS wrote that during a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby on Thursday urged Alliance allies to explain how they intend to meet Washington’s demands to take responsibility for Europe’s defense.
Earlier in August, the US sent a questionnaire asking European countries to show how they are making progress in taking a leading role in defending their continent after agreeing to significantly increase military budgets.
In turn, D.Jauniškis assured that the US did not impose additional demands on Lithuania yesterday.
He also emphasized that Lithuania’s and other NATO countries’ efforts to strengthen their defense should not be seen as competition for US soldiers.
„I do not see any competition, I think we should only be concerned about how we will defend ourselves from future Russian aggression and there is no competition here, we just need to work and do our homework,“ he said.
Lithuania has planned to allocate 5.38% of GDP, about 4.8 billion euros, for defense in this year’s budget. Officials say that next year the share of GDP allocated to defense should also be no less than 5 percent.
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