Lithuania ready to pay for permanent US military base

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said he discussed the issue in September in Vilnius with US Special Envoy for Belarus John Kaul. "Frankly, we are striving for this... I told him directly: we really want American troops to be permanently stationed here, and we are ready to cover the costs if this happens." Currently, US forces in Lithuania are on rotation. Two battalions—about 1,000 troops—are expected at the end of October, along with equipment including Abrams tanks.