"The agreement enshrines one of the key national security interests of Lithuania – the presence of our strategic partner the United States in Lithuania and its support to our defence capacity. I welcome this U.S. Government's decision that provides a legal basis for the U.S. plans of stationing armaments in our region. Furthermore, U.S. funding will step up the development projects of national training areas aimed at enhancing the conditions for combined training and readiness for defence," Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas said referring to the agreement.
According to the Minister, with the militarisation ongoing near our borders and hostile actions observed on the Russian side, the agreement is a reiteration from the United States that having been the first to come to Lithuania and neighbouring nations when tensions surged, it will not step back but stay to build on the collective defence measures of the Alliance so that every ally is protected.
The U.S. funding allocated under the U.S. European Reassurance Initiative will be used to enhance Šiauliai Airbase of the Lithuanian Air Force, training areas in Rukla and Pabradė, and other Lithuania's military infrastructure objects, as well as conditions of military training and hosting allied forces. As soon as this year, the United States will allocate roughly USD 15 million on the basis of the agreement for the implementation mentioned projects.
All the projects concerning infrastructure development to be implemented under U.S. financing are currently agreed with the Ministry of National Defence which will be supervising the implementation process and its compliance with Lithuanian legislation.
So far, the U.S. presence and deployment of military equipment has been regulated under the North Atlantic Treaty of 4 April 1949 and the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (NATO SOFA) endorsed in London on 19 June 1951.
When the new Lithuanian-U.S. agreement comes into force, its regulations will apply to the bilateral technical arrangement made by Lithuania and the United States regarding Operation Atlantic Resolve which provided a legal basis for the deployment of rotating U.S. forces in Lithuania as of spring 2014. The agreement will also apply to the agreement approved by Lithuania and the U.S. on exercises and training support when the first shift of the rotating U.S. forces deployed in Lithuania in 2014.
President of the United States Barack Obama announced the European Reassurance Initiative entailing provision of USD 1 billion for boosting the presence of U.S. land, air and naval forces in Europe during his visit in Warsaw on 3 June 2014. With the approval of the Initiative at the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and the approval of the U.S. defence budget, the implementation of the European Reassurance Initiative now begins.
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Currently the 6th rotating U.S. company with its weaponry and vehicles is deployed in Lithuania as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve launched in spring 2014, other roughly 50 members of the 56th Stryker Brigade of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard with equipment are training in NATO Exercise Saber Strike 15 currently underway in Lithuania, other Baltic nations and Poland.
The United States launched Operation Atlantic Resolve and deployed rotating forces to the Baltic countries and Poland in spring 2014 as a response to the security situation changed by the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
