"Europe must be armed to the teeth"

Euronews "Europe must be armed to the teeth" 3 hours • 2 minutes reading time The US move towards greater cooperation with Russia marks the beginning of a "very difficult process" and requires Europe to be "armed to the teeth," Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told Euronews' Europe Conversation. "We need tools to ensure that all states on NATO's borders are fully protected," she added. "If even one centimeter of Lithuanian, Latvian or Finnish territory is violated, then this constitutes an alliance case." Šakalienė was attending the NATO Defense Ministers Summit in Brussels on February 12-13, when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies that Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO and return to pre-2014 borders - i.e. before the Russian invasion - were "unrealistic." For NATO, Šakalienė stressed, this is one of the most critical moments in its existence. "We are at the beginning of a very difficult process in which we must find concrete ways to become militarily stronger." "Armed to the teeth" Although Europe has increased its defense spending, the minister said, "it cannot keep up with the pace of the defense industry, the rapid transition from peacetime to wartime economy, or Russia's dangerously rapid troop mobilization." The "good news" from the NATO ministers' meeting with US Secretary of Defense Hegseth, said Šakalienė, "was the agreement to secure peace through strength." However, recent US comments are widely seen as a radical shift in American attitudes toward historic transatlantic relations. Regarding the deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire and the ongoing talks between Russia and the US, Minister Šakalienė said it was more important for Europe to be armed and ready. "Talks must be completely irrelevant to us at the moment. What really matters is resources and production, because if we want to stand strong on Ukraine's side and really counter Russia's preparations for the next stages of imperial expansion, then we need to be armed to the teeth." Exile in Siberia As a neighbour of Russia, Lithuania still has vivid memories of the "horrors" of the Soviet Union. Her mother, says Šakalienė, "barely survived" the harsh conditions of exile in Siberia. "I come from a family that was persecuted by the Russians. My mother was born in Siberian exile and barely survived. My family was imprisoned, tortured and murdered. We know only too well that when the Russians come, the best we can expect is imprisonment or deportation. But most likely we will face rape, torture and murder. That is the concrete threat that is hanging over Europe at the moment. We must understand that the cessation of active fighting on the Ukrainian front will accelerate the concentration of forces that Russia will use for the next phase of imperial expansion. This means that we will have very little time to prepare for our defense."