However, the former Defence Minister says he is confident in the new American administration's determination to continue defending Europe.
„What the Russians will inevitably put on the table is for the Americans to withdraw from the Eastern flank.
The question will be whether the Trump administration signs up to this damaging, sinister nonsense or throws this proposal in the trash,“ Kasčiūnas told Žinių Radijas on Friday.
Susiję straipsniai
„I have faith in America, that America will stand firm. We look good according to their defence funding parameters. We are strategically on the same page with the US on our positions on China and Iran. We certainly have arguments,“ he added.
Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys also spoke about the possibility of Russia repeating the 2021 NATO ultimatum not to establish military bases in Eastern Europe.
In December 2021, Russia issued an ultimatum to NATO amid tensions between Moscow and the West, which had massed forces on the border with Ukraine. Moscow insisted that the Alliance could not accept any new members and called for no new military bases to be established in former Soviet countries.
For his part, Kasčiūnas calls for waiting for American decisions, honouring defence commitments, and ensuring the implementation of the principle of universal defence.
„When the Russians put such a demand on the negotiating table, it is only natural that you have to raise the issue of not making such concessions because this would create the precondition for a vacuum to form in our region. We cannot afford that. Not just wait, but do our job“, the Conservative said.
„I would not draw any apocalyptic line on the NATO alliance for now. The fact is that we have different visions here and across the Atlantic. The very principle of investing more money in defence is right. That is the direction we will have to take. The realisation that Europe has to take care of its security is a fact, and it has to be done“, he stressed.
Statements made by Donald Trump on his return to the White House have called into question the US commitment to security in Europe.
The US leader has said that if European countries do not devote enough attention and finances to defence and security, the United States may withdraw from NATO. Mr Trump demands that each member state spend 5% of its GDP on defence.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Mr Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator and said that he must act quickly if Ukraine is to remain a country. Before that, he made the same claims that the Kremlin is repeating: that Ukraine is guilty of the war itself and that Mr Zelensky is not a legitimate president. For his part, Mr Zelensky accused Mr Trump of falling for Russian 'disinformation'.
Last week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned NATO allies in Europe not to assume that the American presence on the continent „will last forever“ and urged them to increase their defence spending.
However, in response to such statements, former Trump advisor Herbert Raymond McMaster assured American troops would remain in the Baltic States.