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xinhua news agency, beijing, october 4 (xinhua) the parliament of the baltic country lithuania approved an agreement on the 3rd for germany to dispatch permanent troops to lithuania. according to the plan, the german troops stationed there will include a combat brigade and civilian personnel, with a scale of 5,000, and are planned to be dispatched before the end of 2027.

the two countries finalized a troop garrison agreement in berlin, the german capital, on september 13. according to reports from german media such as the german press agency, in response to changes in the european security situation after the ukrainian crisis escalated, germany decided to permanently station a "combat-capable" force in lithuania to "ensure the security of the eastern flank of the north atlantic treaty organization." this is the first time since the end of world war ii that germany has deployed permanent troops overseas. lithuania is a member of nato and the european union.

on may 20, 2019, members of the nato rapid reaction force participated in a demonstration in munster, germany. photo by xinhua news agency reporter shan yuqi

of the 5,000 people planned to be stationed in lithuania, a combat brigade of 4,000 will be stationed at the rudninkai military base near the country's capital vilnius, which is only about 20 kilometers away from the border between lithuania and belarus. the remaining 1,000 military contractors and other civilian personnel will be stationed in the central town of rourkela. a 20-man advance command unit entered lithuania on april 8, and another 120 people are scheduled to arrive in early october.

german defense minister boris pistorius gave a speech in lithuania's parliament last week, after which lithuanian lawmakers began debating the troop plans.

lithuanian defense minister laurinas kasciunas said the troop agreement will become "another cornerstone of the strategic partnership" between lithuania and germany. during a visit to lithuania, pistorius said he hoped the german bundestag would complete the legislative process to ratify the agreement next year. (shen min)