Lithuania in the US-Russian Rivalry: Adapting to New European Security Realities

"We are very protective of that region," United States President Donald Trump said about the Baltic States at a joint news conference in 2017. “If I wanted, in two days I could have Russian troops not only in Kyiv but also in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw and Bucharest," Russia‘s President Vladimir Putin allegedly told President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, according to German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung“. Meanwhile, Lithuania‘s President Dalia Grybauskaite named Russia “a terrorist state“, and also exclaimed that Lithuania will no longer be held hostage of the US foreign policy. The paper aims to assess how Lithuania, a small state, attempts to advance its interests and navigate between Russia‘s assertive policy and challenging US foreign and security policy under Trump in order to ensure its security. What interests does Lithuania have in the US-Russian rivalry? How these interests translate into tangible politics in European security environment? What strategies and instruments does Lithuania seek to apply? What role do the transatlantic institutions play in advancing Lithuania‘s interests on the matter? Is Lithuania punching above its weight? Based on original research, Lithuania‘s foreign and security policy stance towards the US-Russian competition after 2017 is analyzed and evaluated taking into consideration country‘s interests in the US-Russian rivalry, initiatives in diplomatic, military, and economic domains, reasons behind taken initiatives. Furthermore, potential breaking points in diverging intentions are assessed, as well as implications for regional security.