US President Joes Biden, who arrived in Vilnius for the NATO Summit, is meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Tuesday morning.
“The United States is here today to reaffirm our commitment to NATO [...]. We are committed to Lithuania and the Baltics, and NATO,” Biden said at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius.
Biden arrived at the Presidential Palace for a solemn official reception, and the two leaders shook hands and marched through the courtyard. Biden also signed the guest book of the Presidential Palace, and the two presidents stopped for an official photo with Lithuanian and US flags behind them.
Sitting at the table with Lithuanian President Nausėda, US President Biden reminded that he first visited Lithuania in 2014, when he served as vice president. He said that it was then that the conversation started about the Russian aggression, which has not stopped to this day.
“We see that the aggressor does not stop. The US is ready to stand by its allies and we will reiterate this commitment at the NATO Summit in Vilnius,” Biden said.
“On the issue of Ukraine, president (Joe Biden) is optimistic. He says that certain things need to be done to make Ukraine’s NATO membership a reality, but today the US, and I am quoting him, is Ukraine’s biggest supporter and will continue to support Ukraine until victory,” Nausėda said after meeting with Biden.
Later on Tuesday, Biden and Nausėda will take part in the NATO summit in Vilnius to discuss Ukraine's NATO membership prospects, defence funding, and the protection of the Alliance's eastern flank.
US rotational forces may stay beyond 2026
President Gitanas Nausėda believes it is realistic to expect that the rotational forces of the United States will remain in Lithuania beyond 2026.
Nausėda said he did not specifically raise the issue at his meeting with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, but heard assurances of US flexibility in meeting allied needs.
“This issue was not raised specifically, but I think that we will have a chance to talk with the [US] president again during the NATO summit, and I think it is certainly realistic to expect that the US contribution to our security will remain unchanged,” Nausėda told reporters after the meeting with the US leader in Vilnius.
According to the Lithuanian leader, Biden said that the US “is very flexible in meeting the needs of our allies” and can “easily manoeuvre its military resources, its armaments, giving more guarantees to the members of the Eastern flank”.
“I think that this issue will certainly be discussed further,” Nausėda stressed.
Around 1,000 US troops are currently stationed in Lithuania, a number that was increased after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas reiterated to reporters on Tuesday that Lithuania would seek a longer presence of the allied forces.
“We have requests for these troops to stay longer than until 2026, unless the geopolitical situation in the region changes fundamentally for the better during that time. That has not happened yet,” the minister told reporters.
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