The Lithuanian government is investing in its people because "we don't believe Russia will change," said Dovilė Šakalienė, Lithuania's minister of national defense.
"I come from the country where 20% of families were directly persecuted by Russians — tortured, imprisoned, murdered, deported to Siberia," Šakalienė told Newsmax's "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" on Thursday.
"My mother was born in Siberia and barely survived because my grandmother's only crime was that she was from the family of resistance. Her teenage brother was imprisoned for 10 years and tortured just because he disseminated leaflets saying that Lithuania is free.
"So we still remember. I was 11 when my country regained independence ... all these memories. And, therefore, we do not take freedom lightly," she said.
"We arm ourselves, and we really try to urge and sometimes even pressure our friends and colleagues and allies in Europe."
Šakalienė also thanked President Donald Trump for pressuring NATO members to spend more on defense, beyond the current 2% of gross domestic product target.
"Nobody in Rome now even talks about 2%," Šakalienė said.
"Nobody in the room talks about 2028 as the next financial mechanism of European Union. We all now understand we all are on the same page that it must happen now.
"We now have 4% for defense. We are second in NATO. We will have from 5[%] to 6% for defense from the next year — and a detailed shopping list, a large part of which is going to be defense acquisitions from the United States," she said.
"We are now already the largest buyer among the Baltic states from United States defense industry, but we are going to do more ... because our government is investing in us, doing our fair share, and even punching above our weight because we want to be ready for any scenarios. And we don't believe Russia will change."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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