The Lithuanian parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence has asked the country's Defence Ministry to look into the idea of establishing a joint military training area with Latvia.
"The Latvians are installing a training area very close to the Lithuanian border, and we are proposing considering whether joint work is possible for us to have a large training area that would take us to a whole new level," Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the NSGK chairman, told BNS on Wednesday after the committee's closed-door meeting.
According to Kasčiūnas, the Latvians plan to set up a training area near the Lithuanian border but it is still unclear how big it would be.
"There's a huge shortage of training space and training areas in the West", Kasčiūnas said, adding that if a joint training area with the Latvians were established, allies would also be interested in coming to train.
Speaking about Lithuania's readiness to host allies, Kasčiūnas said "it was a serious ambition to have the entire infrastructure in place by 2026".
"We have already done enough homework on the Rūdninkai training area, and they will be able to come and train in the next two years," he added.
Lithuania started setting up a new military training area in Rūdninkai last year to be ready to host a German brigade. The Lithuanian Seimas has recognised Rūdninkai, which covers an area of about 17,000 hectares, as part of critical infrastructure.
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