Germany is ready to permanently deploy a brigade in Lithuania, says German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who is visiting Vilnius on Monday.
“Germany is ready to permanently deploy a brigade in Lithuania,” the German minister told reporters in Vilnius.
“The Baltic region is at risk because of its location, and we need to react with vigilance, we need to make efforts to ensure the security of NATO’s eastern flank,” he added.
However, Pistorius could not answer when Lithuania could expect the full brigade to be deployed in the country.
“First of all, we need both the machinery and the equipment. It is certainly not possible to deploy such a brigade in a few months. [...] We are ready to deploy such a brigade, but for that, we need to discuss joint infrastructure and development plans,” he said after his meeting with Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas.
Last year, the Lithuanian and German leaders signed a joint communiqué on the brigade's deployment in Lithuania. However, only the Forward Command Element is now based in Lithuania, despite Vilnius' wishes for the brigade’s permanent presence.
Until now, Berlin has been saying that only part of the brigade will be deployed in Lithuania, while the remaining part will stay in Germany and could be redeployed to the Baltic country if necessary.
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