After Trump's call for 'Russia', the first step in NATO came from Lithuania.

The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, made a statement to the press in the capital Vilnius after the State Defense Council meeting, evaluating the new economic decisions they have made due to the 'threat of Russian aggression'.

ANNOUNCED AS A 'HISTORIC DECISION'

Nauseda stated that the State Defense Council has made a 'historic decision' to reach this level from 2026 to 2030, noting that they have decided to increase defense spending to 5 to 6 percent of GDP starting in 2026, and said, "The possibility of Russian military aggression is still real but not imminent. We must increase our efforts to significantly strengthen defense and deterrence and allocate more resources for this purpose."

THE FIRST NATO COUNTRY TO RESPOND TO TRUMP'S CALL

With this new decision, Lithuania became the first NATO country to promise to meet the target after the elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, called on NATO member countries to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense.

WILL BE THE NATO COUNTRY WITH THE HIGHEST SPENDING

The Baltic country, which shares a border with Russia, is currently spending just over 3 percent of its GDP on defense. Achieving this target will make Lithuania the NATO country that spends the most on defense as a share of GDP. Poland, which is currently spending over 4 percent and plans to increase this rate further, is in a leading position in this regard.