VILNIUS - President Gitanas Nauseda's chief national security advisor Deividas Matulionis on Tuesday described the Defense Ministry's proposal to establish a defense attache post at Lithuania's embassy in Israel as the right move, saying it is strange this has not been done earlier.
"I find it a bit strange that we still do not have a defense attache post in Israel. (...) We have a great deal to learn from Israel, and I believe this is a very sound decision," he told Ziniu Radijas.
Matulionis said Israel has strong military capabilities, a modern defense industry, a total defense concept and is a leader in civil protection and public resilience.
The ministry told BNS last week that Lithuania's interest in posting a defense attache goes beyond arms procurement and maintenance, and also includes supply chain stability, joint defense industry projects and boosting export potential.
The post is planned to be established from July, with the attache to take up duties after the host country's consent is granted. Annual costs are estimated at about 349,000 euros.
"I think that as a state we have our own foreign policy priorities and are guided by national security interests. There are significant differences across Europe when it comes to relations with Israel and assessments of the Palestinian conflict," Matulionis said.
"We see that the conflict itself began, as we recall, on October 7 two years ago, when Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,300 innocent Israeli civilians in a single day. A response was clearly needed at that point. Whether it was adequate or not is now being debated. But we certainly have maintained and will continue to maintain relations with Israel as a country of particular importance to us," he said.
The Gaza Strip, a small territory bordered by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, has been under a strict Israeli siege since the start of the latest war with Hamas.
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