Lithuania seeks permanent US military presence in country

Vilnius is interested in the permanent presence of US military units on the territory of the country.

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis made the remark at the meeting with the US Senate delegation, TASS reports citing Foreign Ministry's press service.

"We especially appreciate the US contribution to the security of our region and Lithuania," he was quoted as saying in the statement. - We hope to have US military personnel in Lithuania at all times, which will serve to strengthen deterrence and defence of NATO's eastern flank."

A regularly rotating US Army battalion has been stationed in Lithuania since 2019. It has more than 500 troops, M1A2 Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M1068A3 armoured personnel carriers, and other equipment. According to the current plan, the deployment of the unit is scheduled until the end of 2025.

Vilnius would like to change the principle of rotational deployment to a permanent presence format. Landsbergis did not specify what steps would need to be taken to do so.