On February 15 Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas attended the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Brussels held in the run-up to the NATO Summit in Washington. Lithuania invited NATO Allies to set and implement ambitious defence spending goals and fill in capability gaps.
Ministers focused on executability of the Alliance defence plans, defence spending and industrial capability development. A record number of NATO Allies are hitting the 2 percent defence spending milestone this year. However, the level of ambition must be raised significantly to reflect the current security situation, according to A. Anušauskas.
“It is critical to ensure that NATO maintains the quick pace of strengthening the collective defence as agreed with the decisions approved in Madrid and reaffirmed in Vilnius. The NATO Summit which will take place in Washington this summer must ensure the decisions are put into practice and demonstrate the Alliance’s readiness to defend every inch of its territory,” said A. Anušauskas.
Minister also pointed out Lithuania’s priorities we would work on ahead of the Summit.
“Our key priority is executability of the regional defence plans. We also need more progress on strengthening the NATO Integrated Air Defense System. We look forward to a practical implementation of the Rotational NATO Air Defence Model,” underscored A.Anušauskas addressing the Allies.
Minister also had a bilateral meeting with Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher G. Cavoli on the security situation and the ongoing adaptation of NATO’s collective defence. A. Anušauskas also met with Polish, Dutch and Turkish counterparts separately to address bilateral cooperation.
