BERLIN — Germany is willing to send around 4,000 troops to Lithuania on a permanent basis to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Monday.
“Germany is prepared to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania,” Pistorius said. He said infrastructure and facilities will need to be created to accommodate the soldiers and their families.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine early last year, the German government pledged last June to have a combat brigade ready to defend Lithuania in the event of an attack, German news agency dpa reported.
Until now, however, there have been differences over whether the soldiers should be permanently stationed in Lithuania or only sent there temporarily for exercises. The Lithuanian government has demanded a permanent presence, while the German government for a long time was very reluctant to do that.
Pistorius explained the German government's decision to offer the brigade to Lithuania was not only because of Russia's war on Ukraine, but also because of Germany's own history, saying that until the end of the Cold War, Germany was the country on NATO's eastern flank.
“We were the ones who could always rely on our NATO partners to stand by us in an emergency and to stand up and fight with us for our freedom and security in Germany,” he said. Now, Poland and the Baltic…
