Germany will deploy a permanent combat brigade to fellow NATO member Lithuania in the next three years, according to a deal signed this week between the defense ministers of both countries.
Once implemented, the move will be Germany’s first permanent foreign military deployment since World War II.
“The eastern flank has now moved to the east, and it’s the duty of Germany to protect it,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart.
Describing the deal as “historic,” Mr. Pistorius compared it to the deployment of allied forces in West Germany at the height of the Cold War.
The agreement was signed in Lithuania on Dec. 18 by Mr. Pistorius and Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas.
It calls for the gradual deployment to Lithuania of a German army brigade—some 4,800 troops—who will be fully combat-ready by 2027.
Most of the troops are set to arrive in 2025 and 2026, according to Mr. Pistorius.
“The speed of the project clearly shows that Germany understands the new security reality,” he said.
“We are ready to defend NATO territory,” he added.
Lithuania, along with six other Eastern European countries, joined NATO in 2004. It was the largest wave of NATO expansion in the Western alliance’s history.
NATO already has a multinational battlegroup stationed in Lithuania within the framework of its Enhanced Forward Presence initiative.
Germany currently leads the roughly 1,200-strong force, which, under the new agreement, will be absorbed into the soon-to-be-deployed German brigade.
‘Worst Scenarios’
Lithuania, a former Soviet socialist republic, shares a roughly 185-mile-long border with Russia.Lithuania also shares an approximately 420-mile-long border with Belarus, a key Russian ally.
Mr. Anusauskas said the scheduled German deployments were aimed at preempting what he called “the very worst scenarios.”
“We must be ready,” he said at the press conference. “Russia remains the main threat to us [Lithuania] and NATO.”
Moscow, for its part, has yet to issue a statement regarding the planned German deployments.
Laurynas Kasciunas, head of the Lithuanian Parliament’s national security committee, said his country was ready to spend some 0.3 percent of GDP in coming years to provide infrastructure for incoming troops.
“All [Lithuanian] political parties—left to right—agree that this is a priority,” Mr. Kasciunas told reporters on Dec. 18.
“We will find the resources needed,” he added.
US–Scandinavia Defense Pacts
Since Moscow invaded eastern Ukraine early last year, NATO has vowed to beef up its military presence along its eastern border with Russia.On the same day Germany and Lithuania signed the deployment agreement, Finland—NATO’s newest member—signed a defense pact with the United States.
The pact will grant the U.S. military broad access to Finland, which shares a roughly 830-mile-long border with Russia.
Signed in Washington, the agreement will allow U.S. forces to speedily access the Scandinavian country in the event of conflict.
It will also allow the U.S. military to store arms and equipment—and hold regular exercises—on Finnish territory.
The Kremlin, for its part, has warned that the move would “undoubtedly” serve to raise tensions between Russia and Finland.
According to a Kremlin spokesman, the potential entry of NATO “military infrastructure” into neighboring Finland will be “viewed as a threat” by Moscow.
On Dec. 19, Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the Finnish ambassador to register its displeasure.
According to a ministry statement, the envoy was told that Moscow would not countenance the “buildup of NATO military potential on our border, which threatens the security of the Russian Federation.”
Russia, the statement continued, would “take all necessary measures to counter the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies.”
Yet despite Moscow’s repeated objections, Denmark—a longstanding NATO member—plans to sign a similar pact with the United States later this week.
On Dec. 19, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters that the 10-year agreement would effectively mean that U.S. troops and equipment “can be permanently stationed on Danish soil.”
Washington has signed similar pacts with several other NATO members, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and the Baltic States.
Earlier this month, Sweden—currently on track to join the Western alliance—signed a similar defense agreement with the United States.
