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The contingent of French soldiers in the battle group of the NATO front forces in Lithuania consists of almost 300 soldiers. On Monday, Nauseda thanked the French leader for strengthening security in the region.
The French contingent arrived in Lithuania for a six-month rotation in July this year. Like other NATO battle group contingents, French soldiers brought their combat, supply, and administrative equipment to Lithuania, including Leclerc battle tanks and VBCI infantry fighting vehicles.
This is the fourth contingent of French troops that has joined NATO’s deterrence activities and the strengthening of collective defense measures in the Baltic States: the battle groups of the NATO Front Forces Battalion in Lithuania and Estonia. The last time France sent its troops to a combat group in Lithuania was in 2018.
Since 2017, the battle group of the NATO Front Forces Battalion operating in Lithuania at the beginning of the year consists of more than 1,200 soldiers. It is led by Germany, and troops have also been assigned to the battle group by the Netherlands, Norway, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Iceland, and Luxembourg.
Lithuania and France cooperate in the field of defense
According to the Ministry of National Defense, countries cooperate intensively in various formats: through NATO, the European Union, bilaterally and cooperatively, and in other ways. France is one of the most active participants in the NATO air police mission in the Baltic States. The country has already carried out this mission eight times: five times from the Lithuanian Air Force Aviation Base in Šiauliai, twice from Estonia, and once from Poland.
The parties cooperate in the context of international operations, where one of the best examples of Lithuania’s cooperation with France in the field of military operations is Lithuania’s contribution to the French national operation Sangaris in the Central African Republic. The participation of Lithuanian troops in international operations and missions in Mali (EUTM Mali) and the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA), as well as in the United Nations Operation in Mali MINUSMA can be considered as specific support from Lithuania to France.
In support of the strategic dialogue, meetings are held between Lithuanian and French ministries of defense and military officials, and Franco-Baltic seminars are organized in the field of defense.
Military cooperation is also developing through bilateral and multilateral military exercises. Cooperation in the field of military training is particularly active: Lithuanian officers are sent to study in French military training institutions, and trainings are organized between military academies and research centers in Lithuania and France.
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