Kasčiūnas: Lithuania does not have a clear channel to talk with the US about security and defence

„I wouldn’t make a big deal of it, as this is a separate Bergen format. Yes, the Americans initiated it at the start of the summer,“ Kasčiūnas told Žinių Radijas on Friday.

According to him, NATO countries are not invited to join this group based on any officially published criteria.

„At any rate, Mr (Elbridge – ELTA) Colby, who is a very important figure at the Pentagon and is currently shaping the new NATO strategy and the Americans’ view of NATO’s future, has outlined three criteria that must be met for countries to become members of this club. Firstly, without a doubt, there is defence funding (…), secondly, the capabilities being developed by those countries, and thirdly, the defence industry’s arsenal,“ added the politician.

According to the leader of the Conservative Party, Lithuania meets only one criterion: defence funding. Based on the second and third criteria, it would be difficult for Lithuania to join this club.

‘But, on the other hand, we have bilateral relations with the Americans. They, it must be said, are probably not the strongest either. (…) On the other hand, we unfortunately do not have such a clear channel through which we can sit down with the Americans and discuss security and defence (…),“ said Kasčiūnas.

He claims that this poses a challenge for Lithuanian diplomacy. He singled out Finland, a country not known for its military capabilities, which nevertheless has such access.

„It has access because it has found areas of great strength for the Americans,“ the Conservative politician said.

The news portal Politico reported that US President Donald Trump’s administration has not invited several key allies to next month’s NATO summit in Poland.

According to six diplomats familiar with the preparations for the meeting, the gathering – organised on the initiative of the Pentagon’s policy chief, Colby – will essentially be a working group dedicated to NATO’s future.

Amongst other countries, the United Kingdom, France and the Baltic states have not been invited. The diplomats questioned why these countries had been left out, given that they allocate significant funds to defence and play an important role within the Alliance.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the situation, whilst the Pentagon declined to comment.