German Chancellor Olaf Solz has hinted that he is open to the possibility of deploying additional troops in Lithuania to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in the face of the concentration of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.
The United States has ordered the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops to support NATO in Poland and Romania amid concerns about a Russian invasion of the former Soviet republic.
“We are ready to do whatever it takes to strengthen the German-led forces in Lithuania,” Olaf Solz said in an interview with ARD shortly before leaving for Washington, where he will meet with US President Joe Biden.
The German chancellor said he would discuss the issue with the leaders of the three Baltic states, who will visit him in Berlin on Thursday.
However, he again ruled out the possibility of sending weapons to Ukraine, due to the policy pursued by Germany not to send weapons to war zones.
NATO has deployed four multinational forces with a total of 5,000 troops in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The US, German, Canadian and British-led NATO battalions are tasked with delaying the progress of an offensive in the region, saving time for the deployment of additional NATO forces on the front lines.
Olaf Solz said he had seen some easing of tensions between the West and Russia by stepping up dialogue between the United States and Russia or as part of the so-called Normandy talks between France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.
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