Lithuania is ready to cover the costs required for the permanent stationing of US troops on its territory. Vilnius has already raised the issue with Washington in a bid to lock in American security guarantees.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said this in an interview with Bloomberg.
“We would certainly agree to it if they are ready,” Sinkevicius said, adding that he had discussed the matter with US President Donald Trump’s representative, John Cole.
The Prime Minister also welcomed the Trump administration’s decision to send a new rotation of up to 1,000 US troops to Lithuania. He said it had helped the country feel safer against the backdrop of Russia’s “imperial dreams”.
Sinkevicius said Lithuania is seeking to strengthen security on NATO’s eastern flank amid Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Recently, countries in the region have faced several incidents of drones entering their airspace, and NATO fighter jets shot down a Russian drone that entered Lithuania from Belarus.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda suggested the drone was likely heading for Ukraine but was diverted by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.
At the same time, Sinkevicius said Lithuanian intelligence services are not currently registering an increased risk of a large-scale Russian military operation against the Baltic states.
Lithuania has also increased defence spending. In 2026, the country is allocating 5.38% of GDP to defence, and in 2027 it plans to keep the figure at at least 5%.
In addition, Lithuania is considering amending constitutional restrictions on nuclear weapons. According to Sinkevicius, this could allow the transit of allies’ nuclear weapons through Lithuanian territory and would not be intended to escalate tensions.