Lithuania is prepared to finance the establishment of a permanent U.S. military base on its territory if Washington agrees to the proposal, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said on Tuesday.
The announcement followed remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, when he indicated he was open to considering Lithuania’s request for a permanent military installation, describing Lithuanians as friends and “great people.”
A member of both the European Union and NATO, Lithuania shares borders with Russia and Belarus, a close ally of Moscow. Since 2019, the United States has maintained an armored battalion of nearly 1,000 personnel in Lithuania through a rotational deployment system, with troops regularly replaced every few months. According to a report by Defense News, the future of the U.S. military presence in the country has been under review.
Sinkevicius said he raised the possibility of making the deployment permanent during a meeting with John Coale, an envoy for Trump, in Vilnius last month.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Lithuanian prime minister welcomed the attention the proposal was receiving, describing a permanent U.S. military presence as a crucial element of the country’s deterrence and national security strategy.
He added that Lithuania was willing to bear the associated expenses, provided its American partners made the political decision to station troops in the country on a permanent basis.
