German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said during a visit to Lithuania that NATO must do more for common security to protect itself against any aggressive actions by Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
"The fact is that we, NATO, must do more for our common security because we cannot know how far Putin's delusions of grandeur can go," Lambrecht said while visiting German troops deployed in the Baltic nation.
"We've heard Russia's threats to Lithuania, which was implementing European sanctions on the border with Kaliningrad. [These are] not nearly the first threats, and we must take them seriously and be prepared," she said.
"The security of Lithuania is the security of Germany. It is this promise of common security that we are recommitting ourselves to today," she said at Lithuania's Rukla military base.
Germany heads an international combat brigade of 3,000-5,000 soldiers stationed in Lithuania.
The force is part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank amid recent aggressive actions in the region by Moscow.
Lithuania has borders with the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad as well as with Kremlin ally Belarus.