Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has criticised the “harsh rhetoric” toward Germany from the country’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
"Harsh rhetoric doesn't help here," Nausėda said in an interview with LNK TV aired on Monday.
He spoke in reference to the decision announced by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius last week to permanently station a Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania.
This capped almost a year of discussions on what exactly Germany's commitments were when Nausėda and Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed in a communiqué to assign the 4,000 troops to Lithuania.
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It emerged later that the two countries had different positions on the issue, with Vilnius seeking a permanent presence and Berlin saying that part of the brigade would be stationed in Lithuania and the rest would stay in Germany.
Gabrielius Landsbergis was particularly active on the issue, publicly pressing Berlin and even suggesting that Germany might be regretting the commitment.
"We have to understand that [this is] harsh rhetoric or attempts to blame those who decide on the allocation of their resources to our country," the president said. "It was the Germans who had to decide what to give to Lithuania, and not that Lithuania gave something to Germany."
"Of course, we need a different rhetoric, a different kind of cooperation, and, first of all, a very clear assurance that we trust our partners. We did so, not all of us perhaps, but we did and now we have the result," he added.
Nausėda said there was no need for any new agreements with Germany, because that would show a lack of trust in the ally.
"Once again, we have confidence in Germany, our biggest ally," he said.
The brigade's Forward Command Element is currently stationed in Lithuania. Around 1,000 troops from the brigade took part in an exercise in Lithuania in June.
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