Juozas Olekas EN

At a NATO meeting of defence ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Lithuania together with Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia joined the German-led group for the creation of joint NATO capacities.

Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas met with is Norwegian counterpart Ine Eriksen Soereide and invited Norway to deploy a back-up contingent for the Baltic air policing mission in Lithuania in 2016.

Lithuanian National Defence Minister Juozas Olekas remains in place after the country's parliament on Tuesday accepted his interpellation answers regarding the search and rescue operation for a plane that crashed in the Baltic Sea in the middle of May.

Lithuania plans to spend 1.46 percent of its GDP on defence next year, the country's Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas says.

Lithuania and the United States intend to sign an intergovernmental agreement on closer military cooperation.

Lithuania's defence minister has been forced to reassure that the country's military does not discriminate against gay men after an army psychiatrist claimed that homosexuality was an exclusion criteria in selecting servicemen.

By threatening to respond to the United States' plans to deploy heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe, Russia is trying to cover its aggressive action and is confusing "the cause and effect," Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas says.

Lithuanian National Defence Minister Juozas Olekas does not admit to have made any mistakes during the search and rescue operation for the An-2 plane that crashed in the Baltic Sea in the middle of May, and has not plans to resign.

US media reports about deployment of heavy weaponry in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia along with some other Eastern European nations are correct, says Lithuanian Defence Minister Juozas Olekas, adding that the equipment will contribute to regional security and serve as yet another measure to deter Ru...

Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of US European Command General Phillip Mark Breedlove is scheduled to come to Lithuania next week.

Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas says that 2,000 volunteers have already enlisted in the Lithuanian Armed Forces for 9-month military service.

Lithuanian Special Operations Squadron Aitvaras is finishing its mission in Afghanistan after 13 years. However, a dozen of Lithuanian troops are set to stay in the country for at least the end of this year.

A Lithuanian delegation led by the country's National Defence Minister Juozas Olekas is on a visit to Afghanistan where Lithuanian troops are serving in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

On 4 June Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas discussed NATO reassurance measures in the Baltic region, bilateral defence cooperation and other issues of security and defence at a meeting with Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Lithuania David Hunt, said the Ministry of National Defence.

120s: Interpellation against Defence Minister, Breakthrough in Greece talks, Ship drowns with 458 people, Mobile underground shelter from artillery attacks.

Thirty-three members of the opposition at the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, have signed an interpellation against National Defence Minister Juozas Olekas.

Defence ministers of the three Baltic states have agreed to analyze the possibilities of establishing a joint medium-range air defence system.

Latvia and Estonia intend to continue providing support to Ukraine, but they are not yet considering aid in the form of weapons or munitions, defence ministers of the two countries said at a meeting in Lithuania on Thursday.

The Baltic defence ministers are meeting with their Ukrainian counterpart Stepan Poltorak on Thursday and Friday.

Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas announced that 1,561 volunteers have signed up for service in the Lithuanian army by Monday morning, 25 May, and that the health commission examined the 500 of them.