On June 15 Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas, attendance at the NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels, met with Federal Minister of Defence of Germany Christine Lambrecht. At the bilateral meeting Lithuania Minister underscored that Russia presented a persistent threat factor which would not go away until the long-term, despite what turn the war against Ukraine took.
“German Defence Minister and I have discussed the plan developed together with Germany on the timeframe of implementation of the agreement to strengthen the NATO Battalion in Lithuania to the size of a brigade,” says A. Anušauskas.
Ministers agreed on further actions in strengthening the NATO forces in Lithuania. According to Minister, Lithuania is ready for investments in infrastructure to host NATO Allies while strengthening national security.
“We look forward to NATO leaders to endorse the decision son deterrence and defence at the NATO Summit in Madrid, and the focus the new NATO Strategic Concept will give to collective defence and robust military posture in the eastern part of the Alliance ,” says Minister.
A. Anušauskas also discussed cooperation in the area of defence industry at the bilateral meeting.
Germany is not only the framework nation of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group deployed in Lithuania since 2017, it is also the largest personnel contributor. Currently, approx. 1600 Allied troops are deployed in Rukla, approx. 1000 of them are from Germany. It sent not only additional military personnel but also equipment, including the Ozelot short-range air defence system to Lithuania in response to the changed security situation.
NATO will take decisions on application and implementation of forward defence at the NATO Summit in Madrid.
