Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius (Photo: Reuters).
“Our partners only need to make the political decision to permanently station troops, and Lithuania is ready to cover the costs involved”, Sinkevicius said. “They are friends of mine, they are great people, so we will certainly look at it”, he said. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius on Tuesday said the country would cover the cost if the US decides to establish a military base. On Monday, the US President Donald Trump said he would consider Lithuania’s request.
Asked by reporters how Russia viewed the proposal, as well as another development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said moving US military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders can only be seen as a step toward greater tensions. “If the military infrastructure of what is, in effect, Nato’s leading country (the US) is moving closer to our borders, then, of course, this cannot be perceived as anything other than a step towards escalating tensions”, Peskov said. The PM’s remarks arrive on the day Lithuania’s parliament voted, in a first of the two ballots, in favour of removing the constitutional ban on hosting nuclear arms on its territory.