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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys, had a telephone conversation with the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, on Friday. The heads of Lithuanian and U.S. diplomacy discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of security, defence, energy, support for Ukraine, and sanctions against Russia.

Budrys congratulated Rubio on his appointment as the 72nd Secretary of State of the United States of America. He emphasised that Lithuania was interested in continuing cooperation with the U.S. in security, defence, energy and other areas.

“Lithuania highly appreciates the long-standing strategic ties with the United States and the significant contribution of the U.S. to the security of our country and NATO’s eastern flank. The values of freedom and a common approach to collective defence unite us. Lithuania, together with the U.S., will continue to support democracies and resist tyranny in the world,” the Foreign Minister said.

Budrys underlined Lithuania’s commitment to invest in its security - allocate up to 6% of its GDP for defence between 2026 and 2030, establish a national division, and renew and modernise defence. The Foreign Minister emphasised that the presence of the U.S. force in Lithuania was essential in deterring Russia. Budrys called on the Americans to strengthen the U.S. military presence in Lithuania and expressed Lithuania’s readiness to host more U.S. troops.

The heads of Lithuanian and U.S. diplomacy discussed the previous U.S. administration’s restrictions on microchip exports and possible solutions to the situation. They also discussed cooperation in nuclear technology, in particular, the deployment of small modular reactors. Budrys noted that Lithuania had successfully secured its energy independence and was interested in expanding cooperation with the U.S. in this area.

Budrys and Rubio discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Foreign Minister emphasised that it was not enough to simply end the war in Ukraine. Ending Russia’s aggression is essential. According to the head of Lithuania’s diplomacy, it is important to continue and tighten the policy of sanctions against Russia because the sanctions are working.