The two-day international Baltic military conference begins on Thursday in the capital city hall.
Current security and defense issues will be discussed at the conference organized by the Ministry of National Defense (KAM) and General Jonas Žemaitis Lithuanian Military Academy. According to the Ministry, the theme of this year's event is NATO strengthening the deterrence and defense posture from both a military and strategic perspective.
The conference will be attended by the former United States (JAV) Defense Secretary Markas Esper, European and US defense analysts, representatives of Lithuanian and foreign institutions, officers, defense experts and academics.
The Baltic Military Conference was held in Lithuania for the first time in 2019.
"From the very beginning, the organizers aimed for the conference to become a high-level forum where security and defense issues would be discussed, emphasizing the significant regional dimension, and for the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy to become an important place in Europe where NATO and the future of transatlantic relations are discussed," it is stated. KAM will be notified.
A closed discussion organized by the ministry on lessons learned from the Russian war will take place on Thursday in Ukraine to be discussed, and the main sessions of the event will discuss the implementation of NATO's defense and deterrence policy by strengthening NATO's eastern flank, the assessment of support for Ukraine and the presence of US military forces in Europe, NATO's adaptation to the changing nature of war.
This year, the Baltic Military Conference is organized with the Atlantic Council, a strategic study center based in Washington.
"This conference is the most important academic defense policy this year event In Lithuania. As the NATO summit in Vilnius approaches, where we await significant decisions in the field of collective defense, this conference is a particularly good opportunity for experts to discuss the goals of the Euro-Atlantic security and defense policy in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine," Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas is quoted as saying in the ministry's statement.
