Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius who left on a formal visit to the United States earlier this week, met with Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl and other representatives of the U.S Administration at the Pentagon Thursday to discuss threats in the region, U.S. military presence in Lithuania, and prospects of further cooperation in multinational operations.
“The military aggression and hybrid threats of Russia, the situation in Belarus forces us to stay vigilant and ready for whichever scenario may come. The current U.S. military presence in Lithuania and its maintenance is the fundamental pillar of deterrence and the way to strengthen our readiness to act together,” said M. Abukevičius at the meeting with C. Kahl.
The U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy assured that the U.S. Administration was absolutely sharp-eyed about the threats in the Baltic region, had a realistic perception of Russia, and would follow the upcoming strategic Russian exercise in the Western Military District, ZAPAD-2021, closely. “The United States is back, a close cooperation with our allies is one of the essential priorities in the deterrence of Russia. We are demonstrating it in practice now and will continue doing so,” said C. Kahl. According to the official, the cooperation between Lithuania and the U.S., Lithuania’s efforts to strengthen its own defence, and 20 years of joint operations with U.S. forces in Afghanistan is a role-model to all allies and the U.S. wants to see it continue.
Vice Minister was assured at the meeting that the U.S. military presence in the region and Lithuania would remain and would be maintained, and that Lithuania’s efforts to provide proper service conditions for the U.S. forces and to keep enhancing it were highly appreciated.
Currently the third U.S. heavy battalion deployed in Lithuania is nearing the end of its rotation. It will be replaced by the fourth rotation later this summer.
M. Abukevičius also met with U.S. Secretary for the Army Christine Wormuth. She seconded the Under Secretary of Defense saying that the U.S. would maintain a reliable deterrence and defence in Europe and that the enhanced Forward Presence was an important element of it. “The division-level command staff development project and officer exchange programme will significantly strengthen the readiness to cooperate and headquarters level,” underscored C. Wormuth. U.S. Secretary for the Army also stressed Lithuania’s exceptional contribution to international operations and expressed a strong support to further cooperation in missions and operations.
During his visit Vice Minister also met with Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Christopher P. Maier and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Timothy Alan Betts. Vice Minister also met with the DoD Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) leadership, the body that had installed transportable airborne radionuclide measurement equipment in Lithuania earlier in the year.
Photos: courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense