Lithuanian President Appeals to Trump to Maintain U.S. Forces in NATO

NEW YORK — Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda revealed Monday he personally pleaded with President Donald Trump to maintain U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern flank as Washington reviews its military footprint in Europe. Meanwhile, Russia’s war in Ukraine has continued for over four and a half years, raising questions about how far Moscow will push into the continent. Nausėda stated during remarks at a fireside chat moderated by Fox News Digital at the Presidential Business Forum on Resilience on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Lithuania is prepared to provide "very generous host nation support" for American forces to remain in the region. "I personally sent two letters to the president," Nausėda said regarding his plea to keep American troops present. The Pentagon has already begun scaling back some forces and capabilities in Europe, while reported options under review could remove tens of thousands more troops. This review is part of a broader Pentagon strategy to shift primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense onto European allies while reserving a more limited U.S. role. However, Washington has also indicated that its retrenchment may not be uniform: Trump stated last week that the U.S. was making progress toward a permanent Army base in Poland, one of NATO’s highest-spending members. This situation has left frontline allies trying to determine their position within an emerging U.S. strategy that calls for a smaller overall role in Europe while deepening ties with countries Washington views as bearing more of the burden. The review also comes as Russia’s war with Ukraine has increasingly spilled into NATO territory. Lithuania experienced this threat firsthand last week when NATO fighters shot down a drone that crossed into Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. Nausėda later indicated that the aircraft was likely Russian and intended for an attack on Ukraine before veering off course. The country's intelligence services warn that Russia is already rebuilding military capabilities near NATO's eastern borders despite its losses in Ukraine. Lithuania's 2026 National Threat Assessment found that a ceasefire or frozen conflict in Ukraine could accelerate that buildup, allowing Moscow to move more troops and equipment back toward permanent bases near the Baltic States and replenish weapons and ammunition depleted during the war. In that scenario, Lithuanian intelligence assessed that Russia could eventually develop enough capability to launch military action against the Baltics and seek an initial regional advantage before NATO could fully respond. When asked how much time NATO would have if a ceasefire were reached tomorrow, Nausėda declined to provide a timeline on the threat but warned that "a ceasefire for Russia may mean" looking for new targets. He stated that whether Moscow ultimately tests NATO would depend largely on the alliance's ability to strengthen its deterrence and demonstrate that it can defend its eastern flank. Nausėda expressed skepticism about the prospect of near-term peace talks, stating that "for the time being, Russia is not ready to start the peace negotiations." Instead, he noted that Moscow appears intent on using the approaching winter to increase pressure on Kyiv by striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and worsening conditions for civilians. "The winter is coming. Russia knows very well where they should target, and they will target energy infrastructure first of all," Nausėda said, describing the attacks as an effort to make living conditions in Ukraine as difficult as possible and pressure its leadership toward concessions. "For these negotiations, I don’t see any ground, at least right now," he added, suggesting that talks could become possible "maybe next year." The threat to energy infrastructure was particularly resonant for Nausėda, who spoke as Lithuania marked another step in its years-long effort to insulate itself from energy pressure from Moscow. Lithuania, marking a new long-term natural gas agreement with U.S. natural gas producer EQT Corp. this week during the president's trip to New York, began importing U.S. LNG in 2017 and now receives approximately 70% of its LNG from the United States, according to Nausėda. During Monday’s forum, Lithuanian energy company Ignitis signed a new long-term LNG agreement with U.S.-based EQT Corp. Nausėda stated that Lithuania’s push for energy independence has been shaped by years of experience with Moscow using the country’s dependence on Russian energy as political leverage. "Our history shows that, all the time, Russians misused our dependencies for their own benefit," Nausėda said. He emphasized that Lithuania is also increasing its own defense burden, stating that the country is spending 5.4% of GDP on defense while building a national division and preparing to host a full German brigade by the end of 2027. He noted that Lithuanian intelligence has periodically warned of a risk that Russia could target critical infrastructure in Lithuania, prompting additional measures to protect energy and other strategic assets.