WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — When asked whether Lithuania supports the US call to increase contributions to the NATO, Linkevicius said, "We have decided on it ourselves, because for a long time there was lack of the funding."
"We have an interparty agreement with all the parties of the whole spectrum, and this plan will be supported by political will," he added. "So, it is not just that we agree, we made this decision ourselves."
Linkevicius added that next year the country’s defense budget will amount to 2,07 percent of GDP.
In February, the Lithuanian State Defense Council suggested allocating 149.2 million euros ($157.1 million) for the defense ministry in the state budget of 2018.
The issue of the contributions to the alliance has been raised repeatedly by the new US administration, insisting on all countries honoring their NATO budget responsibilities.
The target of spending 2 percent of the GDP mandated by NATO was adopted at the alliance's September 2014 Summit in Wales, with only five countries, including the United States, meeting the required standard, according to NATO figures.
