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Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said Türkiye is an important NATO ally with strong military capabilities and a strategic geographical position, praising Ankara's contribution to security in the Baltic region.
"We greatly appreciate Türkiye's solidarity with and contribution to the security of the Baltic region," Ruginiene said in written responses to questions from Turkish news agency Anadolu ahead of the July 7-8 NATO Summit in Ankara.
Ruginiene said Lithuania expected the summit to reaffirm transatlantic unity and the strong commitment of all allies to meeting their obligations under the Washington Treaty.
"In this context, increasing the defense spending necessary for a credible deterrence and defense posture and developing defense capabilities are of great importance," she said.
Ruginiene said Russia remained the most direct long-term threat to Euro-Atlantic security and that the war in Ukraine had further worsened Europe's security environment, particularly for neighboring countries.
She also condemned recent incursions into Baltic airspace by drones coming from the direction of Russia and Belarus and affecting NATO's eastern flank.
Ruginiene said Lithuania expected concrete progress at the Ankara summit toward the target of allocating 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to defense.
She said the focus should include strengthening air defense capabilities to deter Russia and ensure a credible defense posture.
"Strengthening the defense industry is among our priorities. Allies need to increase production capacity, accelerate innovation and keep costs under control," she said.
Ruginiene said continued military support for Ukraine remained essential, with contributions required from all allies.
"Our message must be clear. Europe's security environment has fundamentally changed because of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, its military buildup and the hybrid activities it conducts against allies," she said.
"There is no alternative to increasing defense budgets in response to this new threat environment. Security cannot be regarded as something that will continue to exist on its own."
Ruginiene said defense spending could also create new economic and commercial opportunities.
"While European allies assume more responsibility, the transatlantic bond continues to be the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security," she said.
"Even if the role of the United States changes, it will remain indispensable and of an importance that cannot be replaced by any other actor."
Ruginiene said the concept of a "European pillar within NATO" could be misleading, arguing that every ally must fulfill its commitments on defense spending and capability targets.
"NATO is an integrated structure in which every ally matters. Strong allies mean a strong NATO," she said.
She said Lithuania strongly supported deeper transatlantic cooperation and shared U.S. concerns over more balanced burden-sharing within the alliance.
Ruginiene welcomed what she described as Europe's more decisive efforts to improve defense readiness after years of insufficient investment.
"A stronger and more capable Europe will make a positive contribution to global and transatlantic security and will further strengthen NATO," she said.
Ruginiene said Europe's conventional military power would increase significantly through EU defense initiatives and higher national defense spending.
"The alliance will obtain the necessary military capacity to protect European and transatlantic interests, providing stronger deterrence against external threats," she said.
Ruginiene said Türkiye played an important role in strengthening NATO's deterrence, defense capacity and resilience.
"Türkiye is an important NATO ally with strong military capabilities and a strategic geographical position," she said.
"We greatly appreciate Türkiye's solidarity with and contribution to the security of the Baltic region."
She said unity and effective cooperation were more important than ever as the security environment became increasingly difficult because of Russia's military buildup and hybrid activities against allies.
Ruginiene added that every NATO member had an important role to play in ensuring the alliance was prepared for threats from every direction, whether conventional or hybrid.
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