“It is currently at the consideration stage; there are discussions, and we are answering questions,” Kaunas told LRT RADIO. “From the questions, we can see that various options are being considered.”
More than 1,000 U.S. troops completed a rotation in Lithuania this summer, although some personnel remained in the country. The United States has regularly deployed battalion-size contingents to Lithuania since 2019.
Washington moved to continuous rotational deployments in Lithuania after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The reinforced battalions have typically included 1,000 or more troops, along with combat vehicles and other equipment.
Lithuania has said it is prepared to host up to 1,500 U.S. troops and has the infrastructure and capacity to accommodate additional forces. Kaunas said final decisions would depend on military planning and NATO leadership.
“We should not become attached to a specific number,” Kaunas said. “The fundamental position is that the United States sees Lithuania as one of its most reliable allies and recognises that Lithuania has done all the necessary homework.”
“We are reliable allies, the US recognises that, and discussions are taking place at the technical level,” he said. “The final decisions, whatever they may be, will be announced when that can be done.”
Darius Jauniškis, Lithuania’s ambassador to NATO, said Vilnius had received positive signals from Washington about maintaining U.S. troops in the country. He said the main outstanding questions concerned the details and the number of personnel involved.
“The Americans are definitely not pulling back, and I think we can be confident that we will have troops,” Jauniškis said. “They see both the possibility and the need to have them in Lithuania. The question is really about the details and what numbers we will be talking about.”
During a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby urged allies to explain how they planned to meet Washington’s demands for greater responsibility for Europe’s defense. Earlier in August, the United States sent European allies a questionnaire asking them to show how they were progressing toward taking the lead in defending the continent after NATO members agreed to sharply increase defense spending.
Jauniškis said the United States had not imposed any additional demands on Lithuania on Thursday and rejected the idea that NATO members were competing for U.S. troops. “I don’t see any competition,” he said.
“We simply need to be concerned about how we will defend ourselves against future Russian aggression,” Jauniškis said. “There is no competition here; we just need to work and do our homework.”
Lithuania has budgeted 5.38% of GDP, or about 4.8 billion euros, for the military this year. Lithuanian officials have said defense spending next year should also amount to at least 5% of GDP.
Source: LRT.
