Lithuania to join NATO nuclear deterrent
Gitanas Nauseda (Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins)
Lithuania
intends to join NATO’s nuclear deterrence sharing system and will soon amend
its constitution accordingly, President Gitanas Nauseda said on July 3.
Nauseda said his government filed the constitutional amendment “several days ago.”
“The amendment would allow Lithuania to support and take part in NATO measures related to collective nuclear deterrence,” he said, as quoted by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
He stressed the move is “nothing to do with aggressive actions or provoking escalation” and that Lithuania currently has no direct plans to station nuclear weapons on its territory.
Earlier, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said his country is in talks with the United States about the possibility of hosting American nuclear weapons. Those discussions come amid a reduction in U.S. military presence in Europe, raising concerns about potential security gaps for NATO allies.
The Financial Times reported this week that U.S. officials are negotiating deployments of nuclear warheads and bombers to countries on NATO’s eastern flank. U.S. nuclear weapons are currently stored at bases in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, and the UK.
The talks are taking place as about 1,000 U.S. troops are
being withdrawn from Lithuania. Kaunas said questions about a new rotation of
U.S. forces remain “under consideration” in Washington.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
