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Coverage · NATO Eastern Flank

Relationship record

Lithuania and the eastern flank — The United States and the eastern flank

The 2017 bilateral framework for US forces in Lithuania — and, since 2026, the setting for Lithuania's request for a permanent US base, which no US decision has answered.

Defence agreement Since 2017-02-27

Active
Assessed as of
2026-10-25
Last reviewed
2026-10-29

AssessmentHigh confidence

A described arrangement, not a rating. Vigil publishes no measure of how strong, warm or hostile a relationship is, and no relationship on this site carries a score, a trend or a direction of travel. What is recorded is what the arrangement covers, when it began, what has changed it, and how firmly each of those is established.

Lithuania and the eastern flankDefence agreement withThe United States and the eastern flankDefence agreement with
In short

A Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Lithuania, signed in Vilnius on 17 January 2017 and in force from 27 February 2017, setting the legal framework for US forces' presence and activities in Lithuania.

A symmetric arrangement: it reads the same from either side. Authored once, on one record.

The arrangement

Status
ActiveIn force and operating. Says nothing about how well it is working, or about which way it is heading.Last material change: 2017-02-27.
What it covers
DefenceBasingLegal and treatyCategories the arrangement is documented to include. Not a measure: a relationship covering more of them is described in more detail, not held more firmly.

Summary

The United States and Lithuania signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in Vilnius on 17 January 2017; it entered into force on 27 February 2017. It sets the legal terms for the presence and activities of US forces in Lithuania, supplementing the NATO status-of-forces arrangements. In 2026 Lithuania asked for more: its defence minister said in October that a proposal for a permanent US base had gone to the Pentagon about two weeks earlier, and on 6 October the Seimas passed the first of two votes to delete Article 137 of the Constitution, which bars foreign military bases, with the final vote set for 12 January 2027. The US president said the United States would "certainly look at it". No US decision has been published, and the US battalions Lithuania announced in September had not been found arriving by 25 October.

Why it matters

The agreement is the legal basis for a US presence that is bilateral rather than part of the German-led NATO brigade. Lithuania's request turns on whether that presence becomes permanent, which is a US decision this record watches for and does not anticipate.

Agreements

  • US-Lithuania Defense Cooperation Agreement · signed 2017-01-17

    Signed in Vilnius; in force 27 February 2017.

What remains unknown

  • No US basing or posture decision on Lithuania's 2026 request has been published; a presidential remark is not a posture change.
  • The deletion of Article 137 is not final until the second vote, and supporters say any deployment would need separate legislation.
  • Agreed facilities are not enumerated, and no US presence in Lithuania is recorded on the strength of the agreement; access is not stationing.

All NATO Eastern Flank relationships Open in Explore

Sensitivity: public-contextual Confidence: High Sources: US Department of State bureau fact sheets↗ · Official government statements · Established international media reporting Methodology Corrections

Assessed as of — 2026-10-25 Last reviewed — 2026-10-29