Press conference

Thank you so much,

Dear President Nausėda,

Dear Admiral Bauer,

It is a pleasure to be here today.

And to celebrate together the fifth anniversary of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence.

And I said in my speech, to show our gratitude to the men and women of our armed forces. 

Across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, soldiers from North America and Europe are standing together to protect our Alliance.

And our multinational troops we see here today have shown that they are capable and combat ready.

Here in Rukla, forces from Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Norway serve side-by-side with the armed forces of Lithuania. And I have to say that I’m impressed by the quality, the dedication and the sense of camaraderie, and common purpose that I have seen with our troops. We are deeply grateful for them.

Also, I would like to commend the Republic of Lithuania, President Nausėda, the government, the people of Lithuania for being such admirable host nation for this battlegroup.

And our forces send a powerful message to anyone who would want to do us harm:

An attack on one Ally is an attack on all.

NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence also shows that our Alliance can adapt to meet any challenge, at any time.

And this is more important today.

Because we see Russia’s continued military build-up in and around Ukraine, and movement of forces into Belarus.

So the risk of conflict remains real.

And NATO continues to call on Russia to de-escalate.

We are a defensive Alliance, committed to finding a political solution to the crisis. And we commend the diplomatic efforts underway.

We also be always ready if necessary to protect and defend all Allies from all directions and from all threats.

So I welcome the recent offers by Allies to enhance NATO’s deterrence and defence.

Including in the Baltic region.

The many announcements. Germany supplementing their presence here.

France has offered to be the framework nation for a new battlegroup to be established in Romania on the Black Sea.

We’ve seen many announcements from our American, from our British, from our Danish friends to resend reinforcements. As we speak, we see the air force of Portugal air policing in Iceland. As we speak, we see the fighter jets from Spain and Italy air policing in Bulgaria, in the Black Sea. This is solidarity of NATO at work. And it is something that we will want to send a message of appreciation to all Allies here from Rukla from Lithuania.

And also let me tell you that Allies are stepping up our presence in the region. That’s a strength and unity message that we send. And it is clear that under the wise and strong leadership of President Nausėda, Lithuania is a valued Ally, is a trusted Ally. Lithuania can count on NATO and we know that NATO can count on Lithuania.

Thank you so much, Mister President.