German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius has disclosed that Germany is willing to deploy about 4,000 troops to Lithuania on a permanent basis to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank.
Pistorius made these remarks during a visit in Vilnius, city of Lithuania on Monday, June 26, 2023.
According to German news agency, the German government pledged last June to have a combat brigade ready to defend Lithuania in the event of an attack in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early last year.
Until now, however, there have been differences over whether the soldiers should be permanently stationed in Lithuania or only sent there temporarily for exercises. The Lithuanian government has demanded a permanent presence, while the German government for a long time was very reluctant to do that.
“Germany is prepared to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania,” Pistorius said. He averred that infrastructure and facilities will need to be created to accommodate the soldiers and their families.
Pistorius explained the German government’s decision to offer the brigade to Lithuania was not only because of Russia’s war on Ukraine, but also because of Germany’s own history, saying that until the end of the Cold War, Germany was the country on NATO’s eastern flank.
“We were the ones who could always rely on our NATO partners to stand by us in an emergency and to stand up and fight with us for our freedom and security in Germany,” he said. Now, Poland and the Baltic countries are particularly exposed, he said.
“We as the Federal Republic of Germany explicitly acknowledge our responsibility and our obligation as a NATO member state, as the largest economy in Europe, to stand up for the protection of the eastern flank.”
Boris Pistorius
Lithuania Seeks To Acquire Needed Infrastructure By 2026
Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nauseda welcomed the announcement and said that his country wants to build up the needed infrastructure by 2026.
After meeting with Pistorius and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Nauseda said, “We have a strong political willingness in Lithuania to find the necessary financial resources to be able to finance the infrastructural needs,”
In addition to praising Germany for its leadership and commitment to supporting the alliance’s collective defense plan, Stoltenberg welcomed their statement.
Lithuania, which borders Belarus and Russia, has had several hundred members of the German military, known as Bundeswehr stationed there for the past six years. According to the news agency, Germany is now in command of a NATO battlegroup made up of roughly 1,600 soldiers, including about 780 from the Bundeswehr.
It was unclear right away what would happen to this regiment once the new German brigade was stationed in Lithuania.
