Lithuanian Defense Minister Appeals to Allies
Regional security comes into focus as Western countries become concerned over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s border. The West accuses Moscow of planning to invade its neighbour this winter as it has amassed up to 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders.
Moscow claims the army maneuvers come in response to NATO’s growing activity in its sphere of influence. Russia is also issuing categorical demands for the Alliance to stop its expansion towards Russia’s borders.
On January 19 Lithuanian National Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas discussed the security situation and possible additional measures to bolster regional security with the ambassadors of nine NATO countries, including the US, UK, France, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Norway, inviting the NATO allies to expand assistance for Lithuania by increasing participation in the international NATO battalion, sea operations and the air policing mission.
As the regional security situation deteriorates, Lithuania is taking additional steps to step up its national security, the minister said, adding that allied presence remains the key security guarantor for the country and the region. He named the priority areas where allies assistance would especially important. The deployment of rotational defense capabilities is one of them. The minister also thanked Denmark for its decision made in earlier this month to bolster the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states by sending in four F-16 fighter jets and also deploy a frigate with 160 troops in the Baltic Sea.
The United States is worried that the arrival of Russian troops in Belarus could lead to a permanent presence of Russian forces in the country, possibly including nuclear weapons. The Lithuanian defense minister said that nuclear weapons always pose additional threats, adding that “they exist in the Kaliningrad region” already.
Moscow is demanding that the Alliance permanently block Ukraine from joining NATO. Kyiv has been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in the wake of Ukraine’s pro-Western revolution.
Lithuania Daily News Bulletin.
