The meeting on 13 January in Trakai discussed bilateral cooperation, the EU’s agenda, security policy and energy security, relations with Russia, the situation in Ukraine, and the Eastern Partnership.
A lot of attention was dedicated to security situation in the region. “Right now we have to focus on a smooth implementation of decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Warsaw,” said the head of Lithuania’s diplomacy. He thanked Poland for its participation in the NATO Air Policing Mission in Lithuania multiple times.
As regards the relations with Russia and situation in Ukraine, the interlocutors noted that it was important to maintain a unified sanctions policy towards Russia until the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and to continue to support the effort to ensure Ukraine’s territorial integrity, as well as the reform process in this area. “Lithuania and Poland must continue to make joint efforts to implement the Eastern Partnership initiative,” said Linkevičius.
In the meeting, the interlocutors stressed the importance of the Lithuanian-Polish cooperation in the areas of energy and transport. “Our cooperation with Poland is very important for the synchronization of the Baltic countries’ electricity systems with the continental European networks, and to maximize the effectiveness of the Rail Baltica project, as well as it is important to continue to construct the Gas Interconnection,” said the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.
The interlocutors raised the issue of the Astravets nuclear power plant in Belarus. The NPP project is being implemented in a non-transparent manner and fails to meet the international nuclear safety and environmental requirements.
The meeting also discussed issues related to the situation of the Polish national minority in Lithuania.
On 20 January 2017, Linkevičius will visit Warsaw at the invitation of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski.
