Trump says he will ‘certainly look at’ establishing US military base in Lithuania

President Trump said Monday he will “certainly look at” establishing a U.S. military base in Lithuania a week after the country’s prime minister said he would welcome U.S. service members into the Baltic state.

“They’re friends of mine; they’re great people, so we’ll certainly look at it. They are great people,” the president said when asked by a reporter about the country’s invitation. “I know so many people in that country; they’re great people.”

Last week, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said his country is “ready to pay the bill” for a U.S. military base.

“We would definitely go for it if they’re ready, and we would ensure the best possible conditions for the troops, for the base to be established in Lithuania,” Sinkevičius said in an interview with Bloomberg TV .

Trump’s comment comes as he has consistently called on NATO allies to foot the bill for hosting U.S. troops in their nations and as the Pentagon conducts its six-month review of U.S. military posture in Europe.

The review, which is set to conclude in December, is expected to shift conventional defense responsibilities to NATO allies in Europe.

Last month, the U.S. confirmed it is dispatching a new rotation of service members to Lithuania. The NATO country is located less than 70 miles from mainland Russia. The U.S. does not have a large military base inside the country.

“Baltic countries are understandably interested in hosting as much European and American allied military power as possible because they are closest to the Russian bear and understand it best,” Bradley Bowman, the senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center for Military and Political Power, said in a statement Monday.

“As our Baltic allies have warned for many years, the only thing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin respects is hard power, and that is why conditions-ignoring American military withdrawals from Europe are so ill-advised, especially when we see growing Russian aggression,” Bowman said.

Trump also announced last month that the U.S. is making “major progress” in establishing an Army base in Poland.