Baltics to send letter to US Congress regarding US plans to end military aid

VILNIUS - As the United States plans to end military support for eastern NATO countries, the opposition conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats have drafted a letter to the US Congress, which it intends to send on behalf of the parliaments of the three Baltic states.

The content of the letter is not yet clear, but it is expected to be made public on Wednesday after the signatures have been collected.

HU-LCD leader Laurynas Kasciunas says that the text will be "businesslike and friendly."

"We are grateful to America for its long-standing support for security architecture and highlight the Baltic Security Initiative designed for acquisitions from the American defense industry. (...) We are now collecting signatures and hope to have signatures from the three Baltic countries from different political forces - both ruling and opposition - to back this letter," he told reporters on Tuesday.

The US intends to terminate military aid to NATO countries bordering Russia. The possible changes include funding for the Baltic Security Initiative where the US provides money to Lithuania and other countries to purchase American weapons, train special forces, and receive intelligence support.

However, the final decision has not yet been made, and the US Congress will have the final say.

According to Kasciunas, this news reached Lithuania through the media, which is not good.

"The main question is how we respond to this as a state. There is chaos in the air, and, clearly, it should not be the case. The public is uninformed, and the political environment is unprepared," the opposition party's leader said.

"Direct investment in Lithuania dropped 16-fold in the first half of this year. (...) Therefore, it is natural that loud slogans about the currently historically best relations with the US will not be enough. And selfies are not enough, we need political content," the politician added.

Figures from the Defense Ministry show that Lithuania has so far received an average of 60 million euros in US military aid per year.

The news of the termination of financial support comes as the Americans are also reviewing the deployment of forces around the world, sparking fears that some US troops might be withdrawn from Europe.

Lithuanian officials vow to continue talks with the US in an attempt to persuade Washington not to withdraw its support, but stress that the priority is the presence of American troops in the region.