EU envoy says US troop presence in Lithuania remains uncertain

VILNIUS - European Union Ambassador to the US Jovita Neliupsiene said it was unclear whether Washington had finalised decisions on its military presence in Europe, leaving the future of US deployments in Lithuania uncertain.

"First of all, the Americans themselves need to know what to expect and what the final decisions will be. (...) We must answer the question: do the Americans know and do they have decisions made? I would not be sure about that," Neliupsiene said in an interview with the 15min news portal.

Neliupsiene also noted that Europe is not the top priority in the US National Security Strategy. According to her, strategic documents focus primarily on Latin America, migration and drug control issues, as well as Asia and economic threats from China, while Middle Eastern security has become a major priority due to the conflict with Iran.

"Only then can we talk about Europe. If you are the fourth priority in strategic documents, it is probably difficult to expect a great deal of attention," Neliupsiene said.

The US is currently reviewing its troop presence in Europe. Laurynas Kasciunas, deputy chairman of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence, said in early August that decisions on US troop rotations in Lithuania would be clear by early autumn. However, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas did not confirm this, saying partners had requested that too much information on the matter not be disclosed.

More than 1,000 US troops ended their rotation in Lithuania this summer. According to Kaunas, some American soldiers remain in the country, but the rotation process has not yet returned to regular levels.

The US has regularly deployed troops to Lithuania since 2019, and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Washington changed their status to continuous rotational deployment. These reinforced battalions typically consist of 1,000 or more troops with various combat equipment. Lithuania has indicated it is prepared to host up to 1,500 US soldiers.