On January 21–22, Chief of Defence General Raimundas Vaikšnoras was in attendance at a NATO Military Committee meeting alongside other top-ranking Alliance force commanders. They discussed the most relevant topics of collective defence, strengthening deterrence, armed forces development, and changes in the security environment.
“NATO CHODs underscored the increasing need to tighten the cooperation with defence industry: to step up production efficiency and capabilities that are a direct factor in the Allies’ security. Lithuania has once again reiterated our strong commitment to actively strengthen NATO’s collective defence, continue supporting Ukraine in all military directions, and to develop cooperation with partners in order to achieve lasting security in Europe and beyond,” said General Raimundas Vaikšnoras.
Security situation in Ukraine and NATO role in support to Ukraine was major focus at the meeting. Deterring Russia was underscored as the strategic objective of the NATO-Ukrainian relations, while at the same time ensuring that aid to Ukraine did not present NATO with internal strategic dilemmas and did not undermine its forward defence capabilities. Also, Ukraine’s warfare experience was emphasized as a valuable asset for the Alliance’s militaries and the necessity to consistently learn and develop together.
CHODs discussed strategic NATO partnerships with countries of the Indo-Pacific. Security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific was called tightly intertwined and assistance to Ukraine, including through the Coalition of the Willing – a factor improving security in both regions. Lithuania has stayed active in the area seeking to strengthen cooperation on resilience, mobilization, strategic communication, special operations and deployments to multinational exercises.
Cooperation with Georgia, a long-time NATO partner, was addressed in its own. The need to retain the momentum on progress and continue military cooperation in light of the ongoing political circumstances was noted, as well as the underlying necessity of mutual trust.
Photo credit: Lithuanian Armed Forces
