Lithuania is considering to send troops to the France-led Task Force Takuba in Mali, Deputy Defence Minister Margiris Abukevičius said on Wednesday.
“We have a positive view about the possible Lithuanian Army participation in TF Takuba,” he tweeted. “Lithuania is currently considering & analyzing various options to find the best way to contribute.”
The issue was discussed at an international remote ministerial meeting on the security situation in the Sahel region, organised by the French Defence Ministry.
French officials briefed the meeting's participants on the security situation in the region and Task Force Takuba, and invited countries to contribute more actively to the operation aimed at providing assistance to the Malian Armed Forces, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry said in a press release.
In late May, the Lithuanian parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence discussed the country's possible contribution to the military task force in Mali and recommended that the government consider the possibility.
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the committee's chairman, has said that Lithuania would contribute to international security by joining the new mission.
Task Force Takuba is part of the French-led anti-terrorist Operation Barkhane. France has deployed over 5,000 troops to West Africa.
Almost 50 Lithuanian troops are currently deployed to Mali, most of them in UN-led MINUSMA and two in the EU's military training mission in the West African country.
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