The US government is planning to invest €2.65m into the construction of a munitions storage facility at the air base in Siauliai, northern Lithuania, according to local news reports. The project is reportedly part of the 2017 draft US military budget for Europe. The Lithuanian National Defense Ministry has not commented on the 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 the Baltic News Service. The US Department of Defense is set to quadruple next year’s military budget for Europe from €725m in 2016 to €3.1bn, bringing more weapons into Lithuania, according to the Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Juozas Olekas.
