The incident in Pabradė training ground, where four US soldiers went missing during an exercise on Tuesday and may have drowned inside a military vehicle, should not affect bilateral relations between the United States and Lithuania, says Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis.
“This incident which has happened, I don’t think it should in any way damage relations because this is just, unfortunately, life. I don’t want to say that it is tragic, because there is still hope in theory [that the soldiers are alive], but that is the life of a soldier. That is why we have to cherish and value our allies in Lithuania,” Skvernelis told reporters at the Seimas on Thursday.
Exercises and soldiers’ lives are associated with constant risks, he said.
“This event shows once again how important it is for us to have this strong partnership, because people, soldiers who are determined to defend Lithuania, unfortunately, have been involved in an unfortunate accident,” the Seimas speaker said.
MP Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence, also said he did not see any reason for a deterioration in relations between Vilnius and Washington.
“We have a very strong relationship with the US, we have invested, we are investing, we will invest in the host country’s infrastructure, which is necessary for US troops to operate here. The unit that is here is not just training, it is increasing its military readiness and that is a key element of why US troops come to other countries,” the MP told reporters.
“The military is a difficult art, a difficult job, a dangerous job [...] and accidents happen,” he added.
Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said that as the rescue operation continues, all theories about the fate of the missing American soldiers are considered.
The four soldiers disappeared on Tuesday during an exercise at the Pabrade training ground in the eastern Švenčionys district.
On Wednesday, a possible scene was identified and the M88 Hercules tracked rescue vehicle was found submerged in water. Efforts continue to recover it from underneath five metres of mud.
The search and rescue operation involves Lithuanian and US troops, state institutions and private companies.
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