Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys on Monday said NATO should respond more forcefully after a Russian missile landed in eastern Poland last week, arguing that the alliance must reinforce its military presence and adopt a stronger political stance following the incident.
“There is a desire to remain calm, but to respond firmly,” Budrys said in an interview on LRT TV. “We have managed to remain calm. But that firm response should follow this incident, first and foremost through military capabilities.”
Budrys said previous NATO efforts to bolster forces in the region had helped deter further incidents.
“The Eastern Sentinel and Baltic Sentry operations showed that when we increase our military presence in the region – something Russia finds unacceptable – it takes precautionary measures. Incidents involving Poland stopped, and damage to infrastructure in the Baltic Sea also ceased,” he said.
He added that this did not necessarily mean every previous incident had been deliberate.
