据米尔达·塞普蒂特报道，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普表示，美国将考虑在立陶宛建立永久性军事基地，这一表态促使立陶宛政府主动提出承担相关费用。
By Milda Seputyte President Donald Trump said the US will consider establishing a permanent military base in Lithuania, prompting an offer from the Baltic state’s government to cover the costs.
周一，当被问及这一可能性时，特朗普在华盛顿对记者说：“我们肯定会予以考虑。立陶宛人民非常优秀，我认识很多那里的民众。”立陶宛公共广播公司LRT率先报道了这些言论。
“We will certainly look at it,” Trump told reporters in Washington on Monday when asked about the possibility. “They are great people. I know so many people in that country.”Public broadcaster LRT was first to report the comments.
数小时后，立陶宛总理明达乌加斯·辛克维丘斯在社交媒体上表示，立陶宛将“承担建立永久性美军基地的相关费用”。此前他在接受彭博社电视采访时也曾表示，立陶宛“愿意出资”迎接美军入驻。
Hours later, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius posted on social media that Lithuania would “cover the related costs” of a permanent US base, echoing his statement in an interview with Bloomberg TV last week that the country was “ready to pay the bill” to host US troops.
自2014年起，美军便以轮换形式驻扎在立陶宛，每次派驻的兵力约为1000人。今年夏季，由于美国对欧洲军事部署策略进行全面评估，驻军规模有所缩减。
US troops have rotated intermittently through Lithuania since 2014, with the contingent typically numbering around 1,000 soldiers. The presence shrank this summer as Washington conducted a broader review of its military posture in Europe.
立陶宛总统吉塔纳斯·瑙塞达上月透露，两个营的兵力即将抵达立陶宛，届时美军驻扎规模将恢复至近年水平。
President Gitanas Nauseda said last month that two battalions were on their way to Lithuania, restoring the US presence to levels seen in recent years.
若能在立陶宛设立永久性基地，将标志着美国对波罗的海地区的军事部署模式发生重大转变——自2014年俄罗斯吞并克里米亚后，北约开始强化东部防线，美军一直采取轮换驻扎的方式。
A permanent base in Lithuania would mark a significant shift from the rotational model that has governed US military presence in the Baltic states since NATO began reinforcing its eastern flank following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
就在特朗普谈及在立陶宛建基地的同时，他还声称在邻近的波兰修建新美军基地的计划也取得了“重大进展”。
Trump’s comments on a permanent base come as he has also touted “major progress” on plans for a new US Army base in neighboring Poland.