Jan 28 (Reuters) – Lithuania and Germany are discussing an increase in German military presence in Lithuania “in light of current events”, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Friday.
The United States and its allies in Europe suspect Russia of planning an invasion of Ukraine. Russia, which denies this intention, demands for its part Western guarantees in terms of security, in particular a halt to the enlargement towards the East of NATO, to which Lithuania joined in 2004.
Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border, while demanding a review of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe.
Germany leads an international battle group of more than 1,000 soldiers in Lithuania, one of four missions of the “Enhanced Forward Presence” (“Enhanced Forward Presence”) deployed by NATO in the Baltic States and Poland in 2017 , in response to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
“We are discussing the possibilities of expanding, increasing the German forces and the Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania, as we need to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank in light of current events,” Gitanas Nauseda said at the airbase. of Siauliai.
A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry said on Friday that it was not aware of any plans to increase the German military presence in Lithuania.
“There are certainly rotations of contingents to come, but that would not lead to an increase. As for the reinforcements, there are no plans to send any to the battle group. I do not know anything to the contrary”, a- he told reporters in Berlin.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said plans were already in place to send additional allied troops to Lithuania, including the area where they would be deployed. He did not detail those plans.
“The more aggressive Russia’s behavior, the more allies there will be in Lithuania,” Arvydas Anusauskas said. (Report Andrius Sytas in Vilnius and Zuzzana Szymanska, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Bertrand Boucey and Sophie Louet)