Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius says there is no need for a hasty decision on sending Lithuanian troops to Mali.
"Of course, we'll discuss, think about it. No decisions on Mali have been made yet. Let's not push events, and we'll make a decision by coordinating our positions. There's no urgency," the minister told BNS.
Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics said Riga is considering sending some troops to Mali and also plans to coordinate its position with Vilnius and Tallinn.
"We can talk about sending troops to the EU training mission in Mali but we are still waiting for the Ministry of Defense' opinion," the minister told the Latvian Television.
Rūta Apeikytė, spokeswoman for the Lithuanian minister of national defense, said a decision on the participation in the Mali mission would be made following an analysis of the mission's needs.
"Lithuania supports the EU Council's decision to establish an EU training mission in Mali. We are discussing and evaluating our capabilities to join the mission. A decision will be made following a thorough analysis of the mission's needs. We are currently observing the forces generation process in Brussels" she said.
EU foreign ministers agreed last week to establish a military mission to train Mali's armed forces.
The establishment process had to be sped up after France launched a tactical operation against Islamist fighters in Mali who took over control of the country's north in March and seek to topple the African country's government.
