Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the United Kingdom, and several other countries were not invited to this meeting. According to President Gitanas Nausėda, this is a meeting in the Bergen format, which, besides the US, includes only Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands. "I would urge to stop engaging in self-flagellation, as probably 80 percent of the problems that do not actually exist are created in our heads," said Kaunas to reporters on Thursday. "This meeting is exclusively pragmatic in nature. (...) They invited those countries that have the capabilities, financial and otherwise, to implement the so-called burden-sharing solutions," he noted. According to the minister, among the invited countries are those that possess fighter jets, refueling aircraft, bombers, and other heavy and strategic weapons necessary in Europe. "Therefore, the conversation is being held with those countries that have real capabilities to carry this out," the minister emphasized again. Despite the fact that the Baltic states were not invited to this meeting, Kaunas highlighted that they have a strong reputation as reliable NATO allies. "The Baltic states are always praised as reliable allies. We fulfill our commitments, and we have our own strategic mission that we are implementing," concluded the Minister of Defense.
