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Central and Eastern European countries need to take a united stance in favor of a stronger NATO deterrence and defence posture, says A. Anušauskas

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2023-04-26
International cooperation

April 26, Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas underscored in Warsaw at the Defence Ministers' meeting in the Bucharest Nine (B9) format that the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July had to result in tangible deliverables on the Alliance forward defence -and the Central and Eastern European countries needed to unify to achieve it.

"We, the Central and Eastern European countries, understand that Russia poses a long-term treat. Our nations have to be relentless in their efforts to mobilize Allies and partners in these difficult times. Since we are the most vulnerable, we have to speak with one voice and loudly," said A. Anušauskas.

When addressing the preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius this July, A. Anušauskas indicated four steps that could strengthen the Alliance's forward defence.

The first step is credible deterrence, which means more standing forces in the eastern part of the Alliance. Second, conception of a modern collective defence with regional plans including pre-assigned forces, pre-deployed equipment and ammunition and enhanced air defence approved. The third step is Sweden that should attend in Vilnius as a member of NATO and Ukraine that should be given a signal of a determined NATO membership. And fourth, the agreement among all Allies to make the 2% of GDP the floor of their defence spending.

The B9 Ministers' of Defence meeting in Warsaw was attended by UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace. Together with Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Hungarian counterparts he discussed the security situation in the region in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine, the role of NATO and the EU in rendering support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"Now is the decisive point in the course of the war and a lot depends on our support. We have to continue both, military and non-military assistance for as long as it takes. Our support must be there to de-occupy all territories. Yes, NATO and the EU display active support to Ukraine, but the reality demands more," stated A. Anušauskas.

The B9 initiative is a political cooperation platform of nine Central and Eastern European countries for strengthening the Euro-Atlantic security.

The NATO Summit will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12.