Lithuanian Defense Minister believes that the presence of US troops is more important than financial assistance

Lithuania considers the continued presence of U.S. troops in the country more important than U.S. financial assistance, Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said. Her words are quoted by the media LRT.

According to her, the United States has not yet made a final decision on keeping its troops in the region.

"We have received very positive feedback from both the US Congress and the US Senate on the Baltic Security Initiative. But one of the key points is that we also have to be rational about this political game, namely the presence of troops in our region," said Šakalienė.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, the country receives an average of 60 million euros annually from the US arms procurement program. The U.S. House of Representatives voted in September to strengthen this initiative next year, but the final decision has not yet been made.

"The US has made it clear that European countries can and should pay for their own security. Some programs are viewed by Washington as financial aid, and they would prefer Europe to finance its own defense needs," the minister emphasized.

Šakalienė said Vilnius is focusing its diplomatic efforts on the ongoing US review of troop deployments in Europe.

"Our priority is the presence of allied troops. We highly appreciate the Baltic Security Initiative, it is very important, but our main goal is to continue to deploy U.S. troops, and that is where we are focusing most of our efforts," she emphasized.

The official noted that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had initially planned to complete the review of the European deployment by early September, but the process was delayed, which she called favorable for Lithuania.

"Ironically, Russia is helping us by demonstrating both its unreliability and its aggressive behavior, which increases the U.S. government's perception of risk," she added.

• On April 8, 2025, NBC News wrote that The Pentagon is considering a proposal to withdraw up to 10,000 US troops from Romania and Poland.
• On September 5, the President of Estonia said that European countries bordering Russia should be prepared for the possibility that Washington may reduce the number of its troops in the region while building up its own military capabilities.