Lithuania keeps response to US NATO loyalty questionnaire private

Lithuania has prepared its answers to a US questionnaire sent to NATO allies, but the Ministry of National Defence says the bilateral correspondence will not be made public, LRT reports.

Lithuania’s ambassador to NATO, Darius Jauniškis, said the response was ready and would probably “really please” Washington.

The document, recently sent to NATO members and seen by Bloomberg News, asks whether each country has publicly supported US foreign policy, what restrictions it has placed on the US military using its bases, and whether it spends money on US defence contractors.

Bloomberg sources said the initiative had received a strongly negative response from allies, who viewed it as an attempt to force them to demonstrate ideological loyalty in exchange for US protection.

The questionnaire was prepared after the United States decided to review its military presence in Europe. Washington is expected to significantly reduce the number of troops and amount of military equipment in the region by December.

According to Bloomberg, linking US commitments to NATO allies with ideological loyalty could fundamentally change the transatlantic relationship formed after the Second World War. That relationship has been based on US military guarantees that allow member states to disagree politically without putting the alliance itself at risk.

Edvinas Česnulis, a spokesperson for Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas, said the correspondence with the United States was bilateral and therefore its contents were not being disclosed.

“Lithuania is consistently regarded as an exemplary ally, not only because of the high standard of service and living conditions for allied troops, but also because of the responsibility it assumes for the security of Lithuania and the entire NATO alliance,” Česnulis said.