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German armed forces deploy military equipment in Lithuania

Xinhua, February 25, 2017 Adjust font size:

Military vehicles and tanks of Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, arrived in Lithuania on Friday afternoon amid the deployment of NATO multinational battalions in the Baltic states.

Roughly 60 pieces of military equipment arrived to equip one of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) maneuver companies, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced.

The tanks and vehicles belong to the German mechanised infantry battalion. Germans will take the leading role at the multinational battalion of around 1,200 soldiers, including personnel from the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and, next year, from Croatia and France.

"To date, the main part of German soldiers, all Belgians, and a part of the Dutch military personnel are already in Lithuania," said the Lithuanian Defense Ministry.

The multinational battalion is to reach its full operational capacity by mid-June, according to the Lithuanian Army. NATO eFP battalion's mission is defensive, Lithuanian officials claimed.

The deployed troops are to attend joint military trainings with Lithuanian forces and defend the country in case of a crisis or conflict.

The deployment of the NATO multinational battalion in Lithuania is the result of an agreement made by NATO allies at its summit in Warsaw last year. Endit