President Gitanas Nausėda is leaving for NATO's summit in Madrid on Tuesday, where the bloc’s leaders are expected to confirm their commitment to transform the multinational battalion currently stationed in the country into a brigade.
"It is obvious that Russia poses a long-term military threat to the alliance, which is why reinforcing land, sea, and air defence in the Baltic region and throughout NATO's eastern flank is essential," Nausėda said in a press release on the eve of the gathering. "This is the only way to prevent further aggression by the Kremlin."
Neighbouring Latvia and Estonia have similar objectives at the summit.
Lithuania and other Baltic and Central European countries are also pushing for Russia to be named as a threat in NATO's new Strategic Concept.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of the summit that the alliance would boost its forces on its eastern flank to brigade-sized units.
NATO's multinational battalions were deployed to the three Baltic countries and Poland in 2017, in response to the increased threat from the Kremlin following the annexation of Crimea.
The region's countries are now seeking a larger allied presence on their territories because of the threat from Russia following its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
NATO defence ministers discussed this issue in Brussels in mid-June. Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas then said that the Alliance agreed on the development of a brigade-size allied unit for Lithuania, but the final wording would be finalised in Madrid.
According to Anušauskas, part of a Berlin-led new brigade is likely to be stationed in Lithuania and part in Germany.
Vilnius wants to have a full brigade in Lithuania, but this also requires the infrastructure of the host country.
Lithuanian officials describe the current plan to have most of the brigade stationed in Germany as "a starting point".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited Vilnius in early June, promised to bolster the NATO battalion in Lithuania to a brigade-sized unit, which he also affirmed in his joint communique with President Nausėda.
Some Lithuanian politicians say Vilnius should veto the Strategic Concept if it does not meet the country's interests. However, Anušauskas emphasises that "a veto never solves all problematic issues".
In Madrid, NATO leaders are also expected to discuss possibilities for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.
The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership in May, abandoning their longstanding policy of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, their membership bid has been delayed by objections from NATO member Turkey.
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