Lithuanian Defense Minister: 'Opening of NATO Headquarters is another example of our solidarity'

One of the six new NATO headquarters has opened on the territory of our neighbor – Lithuania – only thirty kilometers away from the Belarusian border.

Another five missions of the alliance will open in five other countries of Eastern and Central European countries – Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

JUOZAS OLEKAS, LITHUANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER:

“Opening of NATO headquarters is another example of our solidarity. But Lithuania is not only getting safety. It takes part in various NATO operations, directing its troops, which are highly appreciated in other countries.”

In each of the six headquarters will be employed about forty officers. Headquarters in Vilnius are headed by the Danish Armed Forces, Colonel Jacob Sёgar Larsen. It will have representatives of more than a dozen NATO countries, including Poland, Canada and Germany. It is planned that the headquarters will be staffed before the end of this year.

ARTURAS PAULAUSKAS, CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE OF THE LITHUANIA SEIMAS:

“They will be involved in planning, gathering information, analysis of this information. But I want to say that NATO, although today in Lithuania it is present in greater numbers than before, threatens no one.”

After Russia annexed Crimea and unleashed a bloody conflict in Donbas, NATO forces have stepped up exercises near the Baltic Sea, and the United States deployed heavy weapons in the region.

DALIA GRYBAUSKAITE, LITHUUANIAN PRESIDENT

“Russian aggression in Ukraine is a threat to the security of the European continent. That is why the aggressors cannot be partners. That is why we have decided to strengthen our security.”

The opening of the six headquarters in Eastern Europe has already been called the most significant strengthening of the collective defense of NATO since the end of the Cold War.

Vital Babin, belsat.eu/en/