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Lithuania prepared to host more American troops

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys spoke by phone to his new counterpart in the United States, Marco Rubio, last Friday. Budrys said that Lithuania is entirely prepared host more American troops.

“Our commitment to security and collective defence is ironclad,” Minister Budrys wrote on X after the phone call was over. “We are ready to welcome more US boots on the ground!”

Budrys insisted that Lithuania and the United States “will continue to support democracy and oppose tyranny around the world.”

“Together,” he wrote, “we can build a stronger and more resilient Transatlantic space.”

The minister also predicted that Lithuania and the United States will expand their co-operation in other areas such as energy and defence.

Rubio has already taken office as secretary of state in US President Donald Trump’s second administration.

There are currently around 1,000 US troops stationed in Lithuania.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry announced in a new release that Budrys also told his counterpart in America about Vilnius’ plans to allocate 5-6% of GDP to national defence annually from 2026 until 2023.

The two diplomats also discussed the previous US administration’s decision to resist chip imports, as well as possible solutions to this problem, the ministry said.

They also talked about co-operation in nuclear technology and particularly in the deployment of small modular nuclear reactors.

Budrys told Rubio that Lithuania has ensured its energy independence and is interested in expanding relations with the US in this area.

The two officials also discussed the course of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Minister Budrys insisted that ending the war is not enough and that there must be a halt to Russian aggression. He also called for the maintenance and tightening of sanctions against Russia, arguing that it has been proven that sanctions work, the news release said.

Source: BNS

(Reproduction of BNS information in mass media and other websites without written consent of BNS is prohibited.)

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