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“At the moment, we can say that in practice the issue is harmonized. They are approved,” the minister told BNS.
Photo by Lukas Balandi / 15min / Linas Linkevičius
NATO approved the Baltic defense plans for the first time in 2010, but Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland are working to keep them updated.
Turkey has recently been the only one to refuse to approve new plans until its interests are taken into account. Turkey’s attempt to name Kurdish fighters in northern Syria as terrorist groups was the most controversial.
At the NATO summit in December, the Alliance Secretary General announced that the leaders had endorsed a renewed defense plan for the Baltic States and Poland.
However, the formal procedures had to be completed before they could take effect, and the Turks stopped them when raising their demands.
Linkevičius said that during Monday’s conversation, he thanked the Turkish Foreign Minister for his constructive approach, but declined to detail how the compromise was reached.
Defense plans are classified, but Lithuanian officials constantly ask allies to ensure air defense capabilities and faster deployment in the event of a crisis.
“I am not going to say anything in great detail.” In December last year, a political decision was made at the London summit, which was announced, but the process of smoothing, coordinating and that process took so long, “said L. Linkevičius.
“The decision was made and it is a successful decision with which we can congratulate ourselves, which I did yesterday also in communication with my colleague in Turkey,” said the minister.
“This is a normal process, because all NATO decisions, whether operational, financial or military, are made by consensus, consensus and time, which may take some time, but NATO is characterized by the need to take into account counts the needs of all countries. ” interests of the members and then, once the decision is made, it is implemented by everyone, which is also important and reliable, ”said L. Linkevičius.
“The coordination phase is complete and needs to be implemented, so defense and military planners will also have the very important work that awaits them now,” the minister said.
“Turkey has participated constructively in the process, as always, has always defended its interests in principle on all issues, there is no exception. What happened was not directed against the Baltic States or Lithuania, which was repeatedly emphasized, therefore We should not dramatize all that, the result is positive and we congratulate him, “added L. Linkevičius.
The delfi.lt news portal was the first to announce a breakthrough in the negotiations on Tuesday.
NATO officials generally do not comment publicly on the stages of consideration of defense plans.
Defense plans are classified, but Lithuanian officials constantly ask allies to ensure air defense capabilities and faster deployment in the event of a crisis.
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