Nausėda: final decision on redeployment of American troops in Europe has not yet been made

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda urged against drawing hasty conclusions about the redeployment of American troops in Europe, noting that a final decision on the matter has most likely not yet been reached.

His words were reported by LRT.

“As far as I know, the US leadership is certainly paying very close attention to the situation in this region and understands our security needs well… So I hope that as a result of all these redeployments, we will continue to enjoy and take pride in the presence of US troops here in Lithuania,” Nausėda said.

According to the president, the new picture surrounding the deployment has “not yet come together.” In this regard, he acknowledged that he cannot predict whether there will be a greater number of American military personnel in Lithuania. That depends solely on the United States, Nausėda stressed.

Earlier, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen urged against “getting irritated” at the United States’ position and called instead for investing in European defense. According to her, this includes increasing defense investment as well as strengthening competitiveness through new free trade agreements.