Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius indicated that Lithuania is “ready to pay the bill” for a permanent installation of U.S. troops and said he would welcome an American military base for his Baltic country.
“We would definitely go for it if they’re ready, and we would ensure the best possible conditions for the troops, for the base to be established in Lithuania,” Sinkevicius told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday when asked about a permanent American base.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for U.S. allies to pay for the costs of hosting American troops in their countries. In 2019, Trump championed a plan to collect the cost — with an additional 50% tacked on — from allied foreign countries hosting American military forces. The president also recently called for European nations to reimburse the U.S. for the “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” given to “Ukraine and NATO, free of charge,” amid reports of dwindling munitions stockpiles due to the war in Iran.
Sinkevicius expressed his desire to have “permanent stationing” of U.S. troops in the country to John Coale, the U.S. special envoy to Belarus, while Coale was in Minsk earlier this month to help negotiate the release of political prisoners held in the country.
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Sinkevicius celebrated the return of up to 1,000 U.S. troops to Lithuania, after American forces departed the Baltic nation earlier this year. The returning forces are serving in a “rotational” capacity, which is how U.S. troops are typically deployed to other Eastern European countries.
“We’re happy that Trump’s administration actually reacted to our wish of having American troops on the ground,” Sinkevicius said. “We’re feeling safer about it.”
The White House referred The Washington Sun to the Department of Defense, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Embassy in Lithuania also did not respond to a request for additional details.
Trump announced last week that “major progress” had been made in efforts to establish a permanent military base in bordering Poland. President Karol Nawrocki suggested calling it “Fort Trump.”
Lithuania sits on the eastern flank of the European Union and is located around 67 miles from mainland Russia. The country has positioned itself as a staunch ally to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia, with the Baltic country pushing for more international military aid and penalties on Russia’s economic sector.
Sinkevicius spoke with Bloomberg TV while he was in Brussels attending meetings of EU and NATO leadership. The prime minister, who assumed office in July, said he discussed defense against Russia and Belarus — Russia’s close ally that shares a border with Lithuania — when he spoke to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Lithuania will hold the EU’s rotating presidency for the first half of 2027, and Sinkevicius told Bloomberg that defense will be a top priority during its term, along with supporting expansion of the European Union, and “addressing and inviting new countries to join,” such as Ukraine and Moldova.
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