Interview with Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis is planning to establish a separate agency to coordinate military purchases, saying that centralization would help ensure better controls.

Karoblis said that such an agency could start working next year and that it will be created based on a model that will be chosen after analyzing the experience of Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and Estonia.

The minister named stepping up cyber-defense as one of his priorities.

As part of efforts to further reinforce the Armed Forces, it will be proposed that the State Defense Council should decide on an acquisition of military helicopters, he said.

Much attention was given last year to a RAND Corporation analysis showing that Russia could occupy the Baltic countries states in a matter of 36 to 60 hours. Do you agree with that assessment?

There can be no single answer. Our military says 'definitely not'. Plans are arranged in such a way that there would be adequate resistance at least until we get serious support from the allies.

But the most important question is not how much time it would take to occupy or to not occupy us. There must be readiness and deterrence to discourage the adversary from acts of provocation or broader action. We must get ready for hybrid threats and conventional war moves. We must have long claws and sharp teeth.

The situation is no good. Russia is beefing up its capabilities in much of the country and Kaliningrad is being supplied with new weapons too, On the other hand, we never had so many allies and guarantees as we do now.

Can Donald Trump's election as US president and possible political changes in Germany, which will lead NATO's battalion in Lithuania, reduce the allies' commitments?  

We do not need to speak about concerns as to the US and Germany. We need to work and show that we are ready to make out contribution for the benefit of both the US and Germany so that the collective defense system is not only maintained, but it is strengthened as well. The whole of Europe should seek to boost the role of the US. I saw a complete consensus on that matter during a dinner of EU foreign ministers in November. I believe that we will get an even stronger result through work.

EU member states have had different positions on cooperation with Russia for a couple of years now. Despite that, the sanctions were imposed unanimously. Thus, we are united on strategy, even though there are differences as to tactics.

Will an agreement on the status of US troops in Lithuania be signed before Trump's inauguration?

We are planning to sign the agreement next week.

Can Lithuania have difficulty hosting the allied troops due to its limited military infrastructure?

We are working on some projects 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Everything is calculated to make sure we can host the allies. Professional soldiers and conscripts in Rukla may have to squeeze up a little this year, but the barracks will be expanded over time.

Let's switch to national capabilities. Do you have plans to introduce universal military conscription?

In principle, I am in favor, but we must take into account both public opinion and our possibly. Some 3,500 or 4,000 conscripts appear to be a limit to what our military can handle. We need to find a balance between conscripts, professional army, and volunteers. We face challenges as to barracks, officers, non-commissioned officers and we need stricter controls of those evading military service.

If the political situation does not change, we have to move toward universal conscription, but this has to be done gradually. It is possible that this will not happen during the current government's term of office.

Do you have a plan for pay raises for professional soldiers yet?

The current government's program envisages a 30 percent pay rise for all statutory officers during the term of office. The current plan calls for a 5 percent increase in the second half and of around 10 percent next year. We will speak to the military about whether this could be expedited. We plan to review compensation for travel costs. The third important issue is the size of pensions; I have no answer here yet.

What major military purchases are planned this year?

The lion's share of investment will go toward ongoing projects: Boxers, howitzers, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, including NASAMS (Norwegian medium-range air defense systems).

The second important issue that we perhaps should discuss at the State Defense Council is that of a new helicopter platform. At some point, we will have to switch to a Western platform from the current Mi-8 with its maintenance problems and low efficiency. The three Dauphin helicopters that we have do not cover all the needs.

Some diplomats from countries which were not selected for procurement say that there was no real competition either for armored vehicles or for air defense purchases and that invitations to submit projects were just a smokescreen and that political motives were, to a large extent, behind the decisions. How much are politics and how much competition there in military purchases?

I am in favor of the best possible quality/price ratio Boxers are a completely new technology.

Would you say that abundant purchases of military equipment from Germany and the Germans' decision to lead a battalion in Lithuania are not communicating vessels?

This may have a positive impact, but I would not dare to say that the Germans came here because of we bought the Boxers. Is this the reason why the British have come to Estonia? It appears that there is no direct link here. It is my fourth week here (in the post of defense minister), but as far as I understand, technologies were looked at more.

If we have a good quality/price ratio, I am certain that we will purchase from America or other EU member states as well. Purchases from Israel are not due to political aspects, are they? They are due to technology, quality, and price.