On October 19 Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas met with Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Lithuania HE Aleš Opata and thanked him for the commitment of the Czech Republic to strengthen deterrence and defence on the eastern flank of NATO with its capabilities.
“We are grateful for the Czech contribution to the security of Lithuania and the Baltic states. We highly appreciate the Czech troop deployments to the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania and the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states,” said A. Anušauskas.
According to Minister, Lithuania was particularly appreciative of the decision to extend and reinforce the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states from April and for as long as until October last year. A. Anušauskas invited the Czech Republic to join the effort to put into practice the Rotational NATO Air Defence Model by conducting joint exercises.
“We greatly value the Czech air defence capabilities deployed to Lithuania. Air defence remains a serious challenge in our region. That is demonstrated by the Russian war in Ukraine. We aim to transition the air policing to air defence, including deployment of air defence systems,” said A. Anušauskas.
Minister also invited the Czech Republic to take stock of its potential for cybersecurity cooperation and increased assistance to Ukraine.
Photo credits: MoD/A. Pliadis
