The United States is likely to review its military presence in Europe, Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė admits, but she sees no signals of possible changes in the deployment of troops on NATO’s eastern flank.
Her comment follows NBC reports that the Pentagon is considering withdrawing some 10,000 troops from Eastern Europe, mainly from Poland and Romania.
“These reports periodically pop up in the US media about possible changes of presence, withdrawals and so on. But in reality, internally, there are really no changes in the system, and everything is going on in a very orderly way: preparations, exercises, the planning of certain resources, cooperation. In fact, everything is going on as it has so far and so there is no change,” Šakalienė told reporters on Wednesday.
“If we are talking about our region, there are no signals within the system,” the minister added.
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However, she believes that changes related to the presence of US troops in Europe are inevitable.
“In general, there will certainly be a review of the capabilities in Europe, I think. It would be pure speculation to say what it will look like and where and what forces could be changed,” the defence minister said.
According to NBC, the troops to be withdrawn are part of the 20,000 troops deployed by the Biden administration in 2022 to reinforce the defence of the countries bordering Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
Lithuania has been saying for some time that it is ready to host more US troops. Šakalienė says that possible changes in Europe would not run against this objective.
US troops have been rotating intermittently in Lithuania since the spring of 2014 and US heavy battalions have been deployed in the country since 2019.
Currently, there are around 1,000 American troops stationed in Lithuania.
Foreign minister: let's wait for the real news
Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said he had not received any indications from Washington about any planned changes to the presence of American troops in Lithuania.
“I have not received a single signal about US troops being withdrawn from Lithuania, or plans to do so,” the minister told reporters before a government meeting on Wednesday.
“As we have already said many times, the plans will be reviewed in terms of the overall presence in Europe, the numbers might go down. I don’t want to speculate here, the planners who work in the Pentagon know better. That reported figure, allegedly provided by sources, of 10,000 troops, all in all, is not high, we do not know what they are deciding. I suggest we wait for the real news and then we will see,” he said.
The ministers’ view was echoed by MP Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence.
“I had a conversation with some representatives from the US last night. I have no information yet, there are no indications [on the withdrawal of troops],” he told reporters, adding that to retain American troops, Lithuania needs to continue investing in infrastructure and to enable US forces to increase their combat readiness in the country.
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