Courtesy of The Baltic Course April 4, 2016
The United States plans to spend USD 3 million (EUR 2.65 million) on building a munitions storage area at the Air Base in Siauliai, northern Lithuania, informs LETA/BNS.
Currently, there is no ability to store in Siauliai, according to the European Reassurance Initiative for 2017.The project is planned in the draft US military budget for Europe, which is set to quadruple in 2017, compared to 2016.
Lithuania ‘s Ministry of National Defense has refused to comment on the U.S. plans.
“The US Congress has not confirmed the 2017 defense budget. Therefore, it’s too early to speak now about any specific use of US funds according to the European Reassurance Initiative,” the ministry told BNS Lithuania in a written response.
NATO’s Baltic air policing mission is carried out from the Siauliai base.
The US Department of Defense plans to quadruple the next year’s military budget for Europe to EUR 3.1 billion, from EUR 725 million this year, and Lithuania-stationed American rotations would bring more modern heavy weaponry to Lithuania, the Baltic country’s Minister of National Defense Juozas Olekas said earlier this week.
