Germany to help ensure security at NATO's Vilnius summit – Lithuanian general

VILNIUS – Germany will "significantly" contribute to ensuring security during NATO's summit in Vilnius in mid-July, Arturas Radvilas, commander of the Lithuanian Land Force, said on Thursday. 

"We can't disclose everything, (...) but Germany will certainly contribute quite significantly with capabilities that we currently don't have in Lithuania," he told reporters in the Rukla military base in central Lithuania. 

However, when asked if Berlin would contribute additional capabilities during the summit, Major General Harald Gante, commander of the Field Army of Germany, said that there had been no such request from the Lithuanian side yet.

For his part, Radvilas said that Lithuania had asked for help.

"Yes, requests have been made," he said. 

Vilnius will host the NATO summit on July 11-12.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces are planning to deploy over 3,000 troops to ensure security during the gathering.

Together with allies, they will additionally provide air defense, protection of critical sites, important routes, protection of persons, checks of accommodation and vehicles, and search for explosives in facilities.