Lithuanian president, Latvian and Estonian PMs meet German chancellor

VILNIUS - The Lithuanian president and the prime ministers of Latvia and Estonia met with the German chancellor in Munich on Saturday.

The talks took place on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Gitanas Nauseda told Friedrich Merz that he values Germany's leadership and its commitment to strengthening regional security, noting that Lithuania's main priority is preparations to host a German brigade in 2027, the president's office said.

"We welcome Germany's commitment to strengthening security in our region by stationing Germany's 45th Armored Brigade in Lithuania. We value Germany's active participation in the NATO air policing mission and its leadership in advancing EU defense industry development initiatives," the Lithuanian leader said.

On transatlantic ties, Nauseda underscored the importance of strengthening relations with the United States and boosting Europe's role in defense, including through fair burden sharing.

The president said this is key to reinforcing NATO deterrence and defense and voiced confidence that Washington understands NATO also serves the US security interests.

"Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that Europe can replace NATO. However, EU member states have to invest more in defense in any case. We appreciate Germany's leadership in this process and encourage other allies to step up their efforts. Lithuania, for its part, is already allocating more than 5 percent of its GDP to defense this year," he said.

Nauseda attended the annual Munich Security Conference, which brings together global leaders and experts to discuss security challenges.