<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares received his Lithuanian counterpart, Kęstutis Budrys, in Madrid this Friday. Albares reiterated "Spain's commitment" to Baltic security and Budrys thanked the Spanish military presence in Lithuania and warned of the need to achieve a five percent defense spending target.</strong></h4> According to a press release from the Foreign Ministry, José Manuel Albares and Kęstutis Budrys discussed bilateral relations, security and defense cooperation, the EU agenda, and key international issues. This is the fourth bilateral meeting this year between the two ministers, who also met on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council in February, the NATO ministerial meeting in April, and the informal meeting of foreign ministers (in Gymnich format), held this month in Warsaw. At the meeting, which took place at the Ministry's headquarters in the Viana Palace, Albares asserted that Spain is firmly committed to the defense of the Eastern Flank and the Baltic Sea region, where it has 2,500 troops and has participated since 2016 in various rotations in NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Lithuania. The last mission was deployed from April to July 2024, and further Spanish deployments are planned starting this summer. "I have reiterated to my counterpart Kęstutis Budrys Spain's commitment to the security of Lithuania and the Baltic countries," Albares wrote on social media. Albares also highlighted the agreement signed this May between Spain and Lithuania to promote the teaching of the Spanish language and culture in the Lithuanian education system. Starting in 2023, Spanish is included as a second foreign language in formal education, and starting in 2026, it will be included as a first language. The two ministers also discussed the challenges facing the European Union and the preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague. They shared their concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the escalation of Russian attacks against Ukraine. For his part, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kęstutis Budrys warned during the meeting that "the current security situation requires our unity and joint work to strengthen Europe" and warned that European allies must increase defense spending to respond to current security challenges. In this regard, the Lithuanian minister emphasized the importance of reaching an agreement on 5 percent of GDP for defense spending during the NATO summit in The Hague. “NATO's strength lies in our unity. Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation with NATO, so our task is to be stronger than ever, so that the enemy does not dare to test our unity and strength. To achieve this, investments in defense are necessary,” he stated. Budrys expressed his gratitude for Spain's participation in the NATO air policing mission in Lithuania, which represents “a clear sign of solidarity among the Allies and a strong message of deterrence to our enemies.” “We invite the Spanish to contribute to the implementation of the Rotational Air Defense model in the Baltic countries, which is a necessary step to raise the security of NATO's front lines to a new level,” he added.
