“I do believe that the USA perfectly well understands the specifics of the region, understands well that NATO’s eastern flank is especially vulnerable to aggressors. I have no indication that the USA is willing to reduce its presence here,” Nausėda told reporters at the Ukraine Centre on Friday.
“On the contrary, I can tell in all responsibility that we are prepared to invest and accept even more if the other side agrees, even more US troops, military equipment for constant presence in Lithuanian territory,” said the president.
Earlier on Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys too assured the media that there are no signs of the USA pulling out its troops from Lithuania.
Last week, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth warned NATO allies in Europe that they should not expect American forces to remain on the continent forever and urged Europe to boost defence spending.
Yet President Donald Trump’s former adviser Herbert Raymond McMaster assured allies that American soldiers would remain in the Baltic States.
Based on the data of EUCOM, the United States European Command, 78,000 American troops are currently deployed in Europe, some 37,000 of them in Germany.
The United States has stationed a rotational battalion in Lithuania since 2019.