The United States has begun withdrawing rotational military units from Lithuania, BNS reported. The deployment period of the current contingent is coming to an end. However, Lithuanian authorities do not know when its replacement will arrive or how large the new contingent will be.
The agency cited several sources in the defence ministry, as well as the chief adviser to the president, Deividas Matulionis. He said Lithuania had received assurances from the United States that the American military presence in the country would be maintained.
“We have received very clear assurances from the Americans that the soldiers were here and will remain here, but I cannot provide a specific number today. The rotation of American troops is linked to logistics, so it is entirely natural that there may be certain intervals of time.
We trust the Americans. We are close strategic partners, and the issue of deploying American forces on NATO’s eastern flank is well understood both by the U.S. military and by the Pentagon. We are treating the situation quite calmly and do not see any need for additional discussions on the matter,” the agency quoted him as saying.
BNS noted that in recent years the rotational deployment of U.S. military units in Lithuania had been continuous, meaning that when one contingent completed its deployment and returned home, troops from the next rotation had already arrived to replace it.
The United States has typically stationed reinforced battalion-sized units of more than 1,000 personnel in Lithuania, including forces equipped with heavy weapons.
