Lithuania and Germany this summer agreed on the deployment of a German brigade in Lithuania and not on its readiness to arrive swiftly, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has said.
His comments followed the statement of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, who visited Lithuania’s Rukla on Saturday, saying that the brigade assigned to Lithuania would be stationed in Germany and sent to the Baltic country within 10 days if needed.
Read more: German brigade would be moved to Lithuania within 10 days in crisis – ministers
Lithuanian officials said earlier they expected the brigade to be permanently deployed in Lithuania.
“Today, the situation is de facto as it is, and the Germans have confirmed that yes, we will come in case of danger. We know that, but this is not the agreement we had,” Landsbergis told reporters at the Seimas.
“The agreement signed by President Nausėda and Chancellor Scholz is on a brigade in Lithuania ready to fight,” he added.
In his words, the Lithuanian government has already confirmed an infrastructure development plan to host the brigade.
“It’s clear from these dates when Lithuania will be ready to host the brigade. It’s not strange to expect both the minister and Lithuania in general to voice a very clear invitation to the Germans to indicate whether the dates that Lithuania is providing are acceptable and in line with their schedule. We haven’t heard that,” Landsbergis said.
What did countries agree?
Signed by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in June, the joint communique states that “in addition to the current and reinforced enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group already in place, Germany is ready to lead a robust and combat-ready brigade in Lithuania dedicated to deter and defend against Russian aggression”.
Initially, led by a permanently deployed Brigade Forward Command Element in Lithuania, this brigade will consist of German combat forces specifically designated for this purpose, potentially augmented by multinational contributions “to form a powerful and exclusively dedicated combat formation ready to be rapidly employed”.
These forces will be integrated into a regionally focused, intensive, and comprehensive exercise program, including rotating forces and Lithuanian Home Defence Forces, in order to improve and ensure interoperability, cohesion, combat effectiveness, and the ability for rapid reinforcement, the joint communique states.
The German brigade’s forward presence command element was deployed in Lithuania in September.
More information
Last Saturday, German Defence Minister Lambrecht stated that “we will ensure that the brigade can be moved to Lithuania in a short period of time, within 10 days”.
Joining her at the press conference, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said such a time frame would be sufficient to react to the build-up of military forces at the country’s borders.
Landsbergis said he hopes Anušauskas has more information about the German brigade’s possible permanent deployment in Lithuania.
“But it’s strange that he doesn’t say it then,” the foreign minister said. “So far, there’s been no need for Lithuania to talk about hosting brigades, adapting infrastructure, and so on, so when one states such facts, it’s necessary to be very precise about what we are talking about.”
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
