Ministers discussed at the North Atlantic Council session the documents which would lay out the directions for strengthening the NATO military presence in the eastern flank of NATO, including in Lithuania.
“Russia will remain the biggest and log-term military threat to NATO. To begin with, its every military aggression is bigger and spans more than the previous, from Georgia to Ukraine, we can see a pattern of destructive and highly consequential wars. Secondly, Russia targets the Euro-Atlantic security architecture and seeks to NATO back to 1997,” Minister said.
According to A. Anušauskas, as a result of the geographical location, the Baltic states experience the highest level of military threat from Russia, consequently, enhancement of their defence, too, requires resolute and swift decisions.
“The unique placement of the Baltic states makes it imperative to build up the existing NATO battalions to forward brigades, deploy forward forces and ensure the chain of command and comprehensive actions plans. More military capabilities on the ground in the Baltic states and strong forward defence is the only language of deterrence Russia understands. We have to be less dependent on reinforcement and able to act in a blink of an eye,” Minister said.
In the margins of the Defence ministerial, Minister A. Anušauskas also met with counterparts of Finland, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Croatia, Türkiye, and Georgia.
A. Anušauskas is schedule to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on June 17.
