The chief advisor to the President of Lithuania, Deividas Matulionis, says he has no alarming information about the presence of American troops in Lithuania.
He reacted to Romania's statements about the U.S. decision to reduce its troop presence on NATO's eastern flank.
"We have no information that the Americans are reducing their forces in Lithuania. We are actively working to ensure that these forces remain in the future. The Ministry of Defense has recently taken a number of steps, and I want to assure you that we currently have no concerning data," the advisor told the news portal 15min on Wednesday.
American troops are stationed in Lithuania on a rotational basis — they are replaced every nine months. The new rotation began in October of this year. The Ministry of Defense is currently negotiating with the Americans for a further extension of the rotation.
"A lot has been done to convince the Americans of the need for continuity, but today we cannot say for certain what will happen in a year. However, the information coming in regarding Romania is not relevant to us," said the chief advisor to the president.
"The Americans are here, and we currently have no bad news," he added.
According to BNS, the Romanian Ministry of Defense reported on Wednesday that the United States had informed it and its allies of Washington's intention to reduce the number of its troops stationed on NATO's eastern flank.
Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu told reporters that the U.S. decision should not be interpreted as a troop withdrawal.
He stated that this would mean "the cessation of the rotation of the brigade, whose units are located in several NATO countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary."
The Ministry of Defense stated that this decision was not unexpected, given Washington's changing priorities; however, about 1,000 American servicemen will still be in Romania.
