“NATO’s adapted Command Structure and the decision to boost the readiness of forces will ensure a rapid and smooth movement of troops across the Atlantic and in Europe in the event of a crisis or conflict and will enable the forces to be ready to respond immediately and without delay,” he said at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday.
Karoblis said that these decisions are particularly important for Lithuania and the Alliance’s eastern region as a whole.
“Due to our geographical location, we are the most sensitive to threats and we are very much interested in a smooth and rapid redeployment of Allied forces,” he said.
The Lithuanian minister emphasized that the speed of decision-making is a key condition for an effective collective defense and called on his counterparts to take every effort to ensure that NATO’s forces are capable of responding immediately in a crisis or a conflict, the Defense Ministry said.
Karoblis also underlined that the establishment of another land force command center at the Alliance’s eastern border would help ensure greater efficiency of collective defense in the Baltic states and Poland.