On Monday, the Lithuanian State Defense Council took to the media to confirm that the country will be sending a Spartan military transport aircraft to a French-led mission in Mali.
In a press conference following the conclusion of the meeting of the president-chaired council, National Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said via best online casino Australia: “We have taken France’s need and requests into the account, and this operation has been mandated.
“Our contribution to it will depend on the situation in the region and specifically in Mali, and also on the involvement of France and allies into this mission in the future.”
By participating in this Takuba operation, the Lithuanian military will be helping the international force suppress the Islamist insurgency that reportedly broke out in 2012.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, sent a letter to President Gitanas Nauseda last summer, requesting Lithuania to make a contribution to the ongoing mission.
Lithuania’s reply to the French president’s request for logistical support was to send a Spartan transport aircraft with a support team of 12 pilots and logisticians, according to the statement made by Anusauskas at the conference.
The aircraft will reportedly be deployed in Niger and would be carrying out its missions in Mali, according to the minister, and it will be “strong, significant, albeit rather costly support”.
The chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, Laurynas Kasciunas, confirmed that the lawmakers will be asked to mandate the deployment of 30 Lithuanian troops to the ongoing operation in Takuba in 2022-2023.
“That is involvement in the fight against jihadists,” he said, and went on to claim that his country’s participation in the operation will show that it “is not only a security importer but also a security exporter”.
Up to 50 Lithuanian troops will participate in two missions in Mali and one mission in the Central African Republic.
Anusauskas also went on to admit that his country is planning on sending special operation troops to develop the local forces in Iraq to ensure a smoother mission.
However, he said that it will be requiring the extension of the existing mandate for the deployment of up to 40 troops to the US-led coalition’s Operation Inherent Resolve, rather than coming up with a new mandate, according to real money casinos in newzealand.
While he made no further mention regarding the number of troops that will be sent to Iraq, the State Defense Council approved of the plans for the country to send two staff officers to a new EU training mission in Mozambique.
The approval of the 2022-2023 mandate for troops’ participation in international operations is expected to be made by the Lithuanian parliament during its fall session.
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