Lithuanian President Urges NATO to Increase Aid to Ukraine and Revoke the NATO-Russia Founding Act

President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda proposed that each Allied country allocate 0.25 per cent of its GDP to support Ukraine and called on NATO Allies to increase security assistance to Ukraine by more than €40 billion annually, as agreed at the Washington Summit. He stressed that Lithuania expects concrete decisions at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, which should be aimed at strengthening NATO, increasing support for Ukraine and deterring Russia.

The Lithuanian president said this yesterday in Brussels during a press conference following his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

‘We agreed that NATO should focus more on practical support to maximise Ukraine's resilience. We also understand the cost of such practical assistance. In the Washington Commitments, we agreed to around 40 billion in financial assistance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but this is not enough. We need to work on a more ambitious financial contribution for the Hague Summit. Each of the allies can set a goal of allocating 0.25 per cent of its own GDP for such military assistance,’ the Lithuanian leader said.

Gitanas Nausėda also stressed that one of the most important decisions will be the obligation of NATO member states to allocate at least 3 per cent of their gross domestic product to defence. The President of Lithuania noted that the current national defence budget of Lithuania, which already amounts to 3.2% of GDP, is planned to increase to 3.5% next year and may reach 5% of GDP in the future, with the aim of creating a Lithuanian military division by 2030.

‘As an advanced NATO nation, we know what Russia is and how to stop it. But this requires the involvement of all allies,’ President Gitanas Nausėda said.

The second important step that Lithuania expects from the Hague Summit is a long-term NATO strategy towards Russia. The Lithuanian President stressed that the Kremlin regime is preparing for a prolonged confrontation with the Western world and that Russia will remain the main threat to the Alliance.

‘The NATO-Russia Founding Act should be cancelled. Instead, we must develop an effective strategy to deter Russia,’ the President of Lithuania said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

During the meeting with Mark Rutte, Gitanas Nausėda also discussed cooperation between NATO and the EU and countering hybrid threats. The Lithuanian President stressed that he supports Poland's initiative to use the NATO Allies' fleet to protect critical infrastructure at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.