„It’s a pleasant message, indeed. It’s great that President Trump is familiar with Lithuania and speaks highly of it. However, that information needs to be verified. As far as I am aware, there are no such specific details,“ Kasčiūnas told journalists on Tuesday.
According to him, Lithuania should approach the Pentagon through diplomatic channels to determine whether the US is considering deploying troops in the country on a permanent rather than rotational basis.
„I would suggest taking this step now – for the diplomatic service to simply sound out the possibilities regarding the host country’s plans, preparations and proposals,“ the politician said.
„It may well be that this was more of a statement – a good one, made in good spirits, a positive one. However, there may not actually be any such plans behind it,“ he added.
Nevertheless, Kasčiūnas asserted that should the US decide to permanently deploy a brigade or several battalions of troops in Lithuania, the country would be able to find the necessary resources. He named Pabradė as one possible location for such a base.
„The infrastructure in Pabradė has changed significantly since 2020 (...), and it is now possible to establish a presence there for longer than 6 or 9 months. (...) It would certainly be possible to build on that, and Pabradė is an excellent location for a permanent base,“ said the MP.
‘Legal exceptions’ must be removed
Commenting on the possibility of establishing a permanent US military base in Lithuania, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas emphasised that the country should remove any legal exceptions that might restrict the presence of allied forces.
„We hear the US President say that he knows people in Lithuania, that those people are steadfast. And our resolution of such legal exceptions, which Lithuania had compared to other European Union and NATO countries, will no longer exist,“ Olekas told journalists on Tuesday.
„We will be on an equal footing with others, and we will be able to genuinely claim that we are better prepared to deter the enemy than we were before,“ the speaker of the Seimas added.
Believes there is no need for a base
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the opposition party Nemuno Aušra, expressed doubts as to whether Lithuania should seek to establish a permanent US military base in the country. According to him, Lithuania’s security is already guaranteed by its NATO membership; moreover, plans include deploying a German Brigade in the country.
„There is no need to seek this, there is no need to do this. (...) Let us not forget that Article 5 of the NATO Treaty obliges all member states to defend and protect one another,“ Žemaitaitis told journalists.
The politician also raised the question of how much it would cost Lithuania to maintain a permanent US base.
„The question is very simple – where do you plan to get the money to maintain an American base here?“ he said.
ELTA reports that on Monday, Donald Trump said Washington would consider establishing a permanent US military base in Lithuania.
For his part, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said at the end of September that Lithuania was prepared to cover the costs of the permanent deployment of US troops in the country and would welcome the possibility of establishing an American military base in Lithuania.
„If they were prepared to do so, we would certainly pursue this and ensure the best possible conditions for the troops and for the establishment of the base in Lithuania,“ the prime minister told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday when asked about a permanent US base.
Mr Sinkevičius also discussed his desire for US troops to be permanently stationed in Lithuania with John Coale, the US Special Envoy for Belarus.