In his address to the troops, the President underlined that Lithuania and Belgium were trusted allies sharing a common approach to today’s security threats and challenges. According to Gitanas Nausėda, his and the King’s joint visit to the Pabradė Training Area is a proof of the allies’ unity and their readiness to defend each other.
The Lithuanian leader stressed that in the context of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, it was necessary to further strengthen NATO’s eastern flank and to increase allied forces in the region.
The President thanked the King of Belgium for this country’s leadership in assuming collective defense commitments as Belgium actively contributed to the security of Lithuania and the region. President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that Belgium was the first country to send an air policing mission to Lithuania after Lithuania joined NATO, and since 2017 it has been deploying troops to the NATO forward presence battlegroup.
“Your presence here in Lithuania is a powerful indicator that the Allies are ready to defend every inch of NATO’s territory. It is a sign of our unity,” the President emphasized.
