“The issue will be discussed by the State Defence Council. The specific date of the meeting has not been confirmed yet,” it said.
On Tuesday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius said the country’s chief of defence and other experts should present several options of AFVs for acquisition.
Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas hinted last summer at possible deliberation of the planned purchase by the State Security Council.
But President Dalia Grybauskaitė’s press service later said that she would not call a meeting of the council for individual contracts.
Lithuania is getting ready for the biggest in the country’s history acquisition in the area of defence. It plans to purchase AFVs, including maintenance services, the adaptation of infrastructure and personnel training. The number of machines and the value of deal has not been disclosed.
Ex-Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Valdas Tutkus, who announced his resignation as director of the Lithuanian Defence and Security Industry Association last week, claims that the political decision to buy German AFVs Boxer had already been made a year ago. Meanwhile National Defence Minister Juozas Olekas denies that, saying that Lithuania is still choosing among several options and the final decision will be made in late September of early October.
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