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“NATO’s response to attempts to shatter the unity of the Transatlantic Alliance should rely on the unity of allies, and their consistent and firm attitude,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Linas Linkevičius, said at the GLOBSEC 2016 Bratislava Global Security Forum, which started on 15 April.

During the discussion on ‘Protecting Europe: Boosting Capabilities’, Minister Linkevičius stressed that NATO played an important role in reinforcing the collective defence and deterrence actions, in view of the threats from the eastern neighbour, which, in his words, should be neither underestimated, nor ignored using the excuses that this could increase the tension.

Therefore, according to Mr. Linkevičius, the Alliance’s adaptation process should not be limited to the implementation of the Readiness Action Plan which was adopted at the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014. The NATO should be capable of withstanding the unexpected attacks from the conventional forces and remain resistant to hybrid threats. During the discussion, major attention was given to the concept of the deployment of Alliance’s advanced multinational forces in the Baltic States and Poland.

According to Minister Linkevičius, the individual efforts of Member States to strengthen their defence capabilities also play an important role. Lithuania serves as an example of how ensuring adequate defence resources, adapting the legal basis and raising public awareness can significantly contribute to cooperation with allies in filling in the security gaps in the eastern part of the alliance.

GLOBSEC discussion forum, which is taking place for the 11th time this year, has been focused on the approaching NATO Summit in Warsaw, the US presidential election and Transatlantic partnerships, also the situation in the Middle East, and Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and Syria.

On Saturday, Minister Linkevičius also expected held bilateral meetings with Slovak Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák; Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Crnadak, and the former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright.