This is like open traitor.
Lithuania's president said Wednesday it would ask the U.S. to permanently station troops in the country to help bolster security. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said at a news conference, "Of course we will negotiate with the United States to ensure that the rotation of U.S. troops will be permanently stationed in Lithuania." Geitanas Nauceda added, "This would be the best security and deterrent that NATO can offer not only to Lithuania, but to the entire region." ”
Lithuanian President Geetanas Nauseda and U.S. President Joe Biden
Lithuania is a former Soviet republic bordering the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. It is reported that since 2019, the United States has deployed about 500 soldiers and equipped battle groups in Lithuania, without overlapping rotations. At the same time, other NATO allies have announced plans to increase their military presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. At present, NATO's tensions with Russia are rising, and the region hastily convened a series of diplomatic and security conferences.
Western intelligence reports say Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, raising growing fears that Russia is about to invade Ukraine and that the United States has worked hardest to hype up war, though Moscow has denied planning to invade Ukraine. Previously, the United States has said that it will deploy 8,500 soldiers to a "high alert" state so that it can be deployed to Europe at any time, and may be deployed in a short period of time if it needs to appease NATO allies.
President of Lithuania, Giantanus Nauseda
On the same day that Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda made those remarks, the Netherlands said it would increase the strength of NATO's battle group in Lithuania from 270 to 350. Dutch troops are part of a German-led NATO battle group that was deployed to the area five years ago. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told the army at a military base (Rukla) in the Yonawa region of Lithuania, "We are committed to strengthening the forward presence." ”
Separately, the Slovak parliament ratified a defense treaty with the United States on February 9. The cooperation agreement was approved by 79 votes to 60 out of 150 seats in the Legislative Council. The agreement allowed U.S. forces to use Slovakia's air bases in Malacky-Kuchyna and Sliac for 10 years. NATO member Slovakia will receive $100 million from the U.S. military to help modernize both facilities.
Meanwhile, British media released a so-called "poll" saying that a study showed that most people in Europe believed that Russia would invade Ukraine in 2022 and that both NATO and the European Union (EU) should side with Kiev. The study's authors also say the crisis could eventually dramatically change the way Europeans think about their own security.
Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), added, "These data show that Europe's geopolitics is awakening." In Ukraine, EU countries are portrayed as divided, weak, absent, but European citizens are united: they agree that Vladimir Putin may take military action and that Europe and its NATO partners should provide aid to Ukraine. ”
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) conducted the survey in seven countries that account for two-thirds of the EU's population. The study's authors say the survey shows that "europeans take war for granted, and there is little truth to this cliché." They see their world as pre-war rather than post-war. ”
U.S. troops in Lithuania
The poll, conducted in late January, also revealed that a majority of six of the seven countries surveyed believe Russia will invade Ukraine in 2022, while countries closest to Europe's eastern border generally believe russia will invade Ukraine.