The Baltic nation’s announcement comes weeks after US President-elect Donald Trump mentioned NATO allies ought to spend at the very least 5% of GDP on protection.
Lithuania will enhance protection spending by between 5% and 6% of GDP beginning in 2026 as a result of menace of Russian aggression within the area, the Baltic nation’s President Gitanas Nausėda mentioned on Friday.
Nausėda mentioned the State Defense Council made the “historic choice” on Friday to achieve that degree of spending from 2026 to 2030.
“The chance of Russian navy aggression remains to be actual, however not imminent. We should enhance our efforts to considerably strengthen protection and deterrence by dedicating extra assets for this objective,” Nausėda mentioned at a information convention in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The NATO and EU member nation, which borders Russia and its ally Belarus, at present spends simply over 3% of GDP on protection.
Achieving the 5% goal would make Lithuania the highest-spending NATO nation on protection as a proportion of its GDP. The present chief is Poland, which spends greater than 4% of its GDP on protection and is predicted to method 5% by the top of the 12 months.
Lithuania’s announcement comes after US President-elect Donald Trump this month referred to as on NATO allies to extend protection spending to five% of GDP – a degree at present unmatched by any member of the navy alliance – in comparison with the present goal of two%.
Trump has expressed skepticism about NATO for years, overtly questioning the worth of the alliance that has outlined American overseas coverage for many years, and extra lately threatening to not defend members who fail to fulfill navy spending targets. protection.
There was a blended response from NATO’s European leaders to Trump’s feedback, with some highlighting the issue of spending a lot on protection, whereas others – significantly these on NATO’s jap entrance who really feel extra weak – supported the concept.
“Our safety can be assured by our membership in NATO, however it’ll solely be efficient if we’re ready to defend ourselves,” Nausėda mentioned.
Speaking on the press convention along with President Nausėda, Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė mentioned that the extra spending will go in the direction of advance funds on Leopard tanks, air protection techniques and different tools, which can assist velocity up deliveries.
Šakalienė belongs to a brand new center-left authorities that took workplace final 12 months, which has promised to make safety a key precedence for the small nation of slightly below 3 million individuals. Last month the federal government elevated the worldwide borrowing restrict to have the ability to borrow cash for protection investments.
NATO members elevated protection spending following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As of the top of final 12 months, 24 of 32 nations had met the two% spending goal of GDP, in comparison with simply seven nations in 2018.
Additional sources • AP
