US Defense Spending Criticized by Lithuanian Minister

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on Wednesday that the large U.S. proportion of Western defense spending is unfair to Washington and that Europe needs to step up and bolster its defense industries to deter Russia and China.

"Europe has to pull its weight" on contributions to defense, Sakaliene said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York. "It's unfair that contributions of the United States are still so disproportionately large," she said.

Her comments echo remarks from members of the incoming administration of President Donald Trump. She praised the muscular approach to policy of Trump's nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.

Sakaliene said that the "indecisiveness, weakness and compromise of the Western world" led to the point where it has problems procuring one million rounds of munitions for Ukraine.

Hegseth, whose nomination as head of the Pentagon needs to be approved by the U.S. Senate, has run into trouble due to allegations of misconduct in his professional and personal life, including accusations of sexual assault, which he denies.

Sakaliene said: "I really like some of his thoughts and ideas, which makes him very tough."

She pledged to keep Lithuania's defense spending at 3.5% of its gross domestic product next year, and said it could later go as high as 5%.

Changes to Russia's economy indicate it has military ambitions beyond Ukraine, she said, speaking via video link from Vilnius.

"My only worry and concern is that if we have an illusion that freezing the war in Ukraine...it will allow Russians firstly to prepare for the third wave of annihilation of Ukraine and, secondly, for their next steps of imperial expansion," Sakaliene said when asked about Trump's promises to bring the war in Ukraine to a swift end.

"Because they have transformed their economy from a peacetime economy to a military economy for a reason, and Ukraine is not reason enough for such huge changes," she added.

Lithuania borders both Russia and its ally Belarus, and the incoming minister said she is more worried that Russia might invade it than she was a decade ago.

Sakaliene said the pragmatic argument for the United States to stay involved in Europe is that it needs European support in its confrontation with China, and if Europe "is hurt by Russia," that would lead to bad consequences for the United States.

"I'm very realistic, and I understand that Europe is not even in the top three of the priorities of the United States. Priority number one is the United States. And then it's Taiwan, and then it's Israel, and then Europe", she said.

"The war in Taiwan is coming, I think it's clear to all of us," she added.

To view the live broadcast of the World Stage go to the Reuters LIVE page:

(Writing by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Alex Richardson and Alistair Bell)