Last week, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas announced on Facebook that the country decided it would acquire the German Leopard 2 tanks. As the news spread at home and abroad, Anušauskas came under criticism from fellow party members and officials – he spoke too soon.
On Facebook last week, Anušauskas said the country would send Germany a letter of intent to purchase the Leopard tanks, which were chosen over their American Abrams and South Korean Black Panther counterparts.
However, it later became clear the information was of “restricted use”, with the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda saying such details “should not be shared on Facebook”.
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Anušauskas and the Defence Ministry insisted that no classified information had been made public, but critics say revealing Lithuania’s choice has undermined the country’s negotiating position with the German manufacturer.
MP Agnė Širinskienė from the parliamentary opposition has now asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to look at whether the defence minister had disclosed a state secret.
On Monday, Nausėda said he would not call for Anušauskas’ resignation but would wait for the prosecutor’s conclusions.
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Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also spoke out on Monday against Anušauskas, a fellow member of the conservative Homeland Union (TS-LKD) party, head of the three-party ruling coalition.
“When it comes to extremely sensitive issues of national security, I would say that there is one rule: if you can say less, then say less,” Landsbergis told LRT TV.
Lithuania’s Defence Ministry sent a letter of intent to Germany last week but stressed that it did not yet indicate Lithuania’s final decision to buy the Leopard tanks.
The country is looking to acquire tanks as part of its plans to form a division-sized unit in its Armed Forces.
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Edited by Benas Gerdžiūnas. Additional reporting by the Baltic News Service (BNS).
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