Lithuania to ratify defence deal with US: President

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has proposed that the country's parliament urgently ratify the defence cooperation agreement with the US, the president's office said.

Recently, Lithuanian and the US signed agreement defining conditions for the construction of military objects and movement of US aircraft, ships, and other military vehicles in this Baltic country, Xinhua news reported on Tuesday.

Grybauskaite said the agreement would help allied troops "implement deterrence measures and strengthen the defence of NATO eastern flank."

Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania's neighbouring countries, have also signed parallel cooperation agreements with the US, according to the president's office.

The agreement on the status of US forces in Lithuania comes more than two years since the first US forces arrived to Lithuania.

Since early 2014, rotational US forces have been attending joint military training in Lithuania.

--IANS

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