If Donald Trump wins the US presidential election this fall, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says he will seek to convince the new administration to continue America’s active role in the Baltic Sea region.
“I had experience with the Trump administration. I have to say that we took important decisions in NATO to strengthen the alliance,” Nausėda told reporters at the European Political Community Summit in the United Kingdom on Thursday.
“I really look forward to bringing the arguments why US presence in Europe and the Baltic region is the best deterrent against Russia and I think it contributes to stability in the whole region,” the president said.
“If there is a new administration in the US, my task and the task of my colleagues will be to convince them to continue this policy of transatlantic bond,” he added.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington last year stepped up its military presence in the Baltic countries and changed the status of American forces in Lithuania to “a persistent rotational presence”.
For its part, Lithuania has committed to providing infrastructure for US troops.
Currently, the US rotational force in Lithuania consists of two battalions.
Experts say that last week’s assassination attempt has significantly boosted Trump’s chances of being elected as US president.
The European Political Community Summit has brought together leaders from 45 countries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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