Lithuania weighs US troop hopes against doubts over Russia policy

Lithuania is seeking a permanent US troop presence while navigating concerns over Washington’s actions toward Russia, LRT reports. US soldiers are gradually returning to the country even as the Trump administration has taken steps that LRT says strengthen Moscow.

Those steps include a diesel agreement with Vladimir Putin, pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and reported discussions between Russian and US officials about future energy deals. At the same time, the US commander of NATO forces in Europe has warned that Russia would face a response, including on its own territory, if it attacked.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump confronted Zelensky in New York several weeks ago, reportedly asking why Ukraine was striking Russian oil facilities. LRT says Trump later blamed Ukraine for high diesel prices, reached an agreement with the Kremlin, eased sanctions and bought some diesel. Zelensky has also said that intelligence sharing with Ukraine was paused.

“My reaction is unequivocal: this is a bad day,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said of the diesel agreement. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius also criticised the US agreements with Russia, while thanking Washington for resuming the rotation of American troops in Lithuania.

“Our current balancing act is roughly this: we are not abandoning support for Ukraine, we understand what it needs and want the Americans to support it as much as possible. But our politicians do not want to take part directly in that dispute, and there is not much point in doing so,” said Tomas Janeliunas, a professor at Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science.

Deividas Matulionis, the president’s chief national security adviser, said Lithuania’s best course was to wait. Lithuania has already proposed a permanent deployment and a base to the United States. The country could host 1,500 to 2,000 American troops, he said, adding that some infrastructure might need preparation. He said both the governing parties and the opposition would support such a decision.

Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys rejected the idea that Lithuania’s criticism of the agreement with Russia could affect US decisions on future troop deployments. “We should not assume that one issue is hostage to another,” he said, adding that Lithuania had resolved other difficult issues in its relationship with the United States.

LRT describes Lithuania’s dilemma as a conflict between its support for Ukraine, which is fighting Russia, and its reliance on the United States as its main security guarantor. While the Kremlin has traditionally sought to cast doubt on NATO unity, the article says, Washington’s actions are now raising doubts of their own.

Janeliunas said the possibility of the United States making military agreements with the Kremlin could not be entirely ruled out, although he considered it unlikely. “The reaction would be simply explosive,” he said.