Strengthening transatlantic ties is very important for security of Lithuania and the whole of Europe, so the participants of the meeting discussed possibilities in this area brought about by the forthcoming NATO Summit in September 2014 and the EU-U.S. trade negotiations aimed at creating a free-trade bloc.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius met with one of the guests of the Snow Meeting – one of the Ukrainian opposition leaders, member of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) and former Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko – to discuss developments in Ukraine and prospects for the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood. According to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, developments in Ukraine confirm that that "the European project remains attractive and enjoys broad support among the people".
"We need to work with civil society and democratic structures in the Eastern Neighbourhood countries to achieve our common objectives of prosperity and stability," the Lithuanian Foreign Minister said.
The meeting also took stock of important issues related to the conflict in Syria, Iran's nuclear programme, international security threats, such as terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction which will be receiving more attention of Lithuania from the beginning of this year, because the country became a member of the United Nations Security Council.
The participants of the meeting gave significant attention to the need to develop a coordinated international community's response to new threats and challenges which know no boundaries, including energy security and cyber security. They also discussed the need and ways to build trust-based relationships between Western countries and Russia, and obstacles on this road.
The 7th discussion in Trakai was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt, the Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlăţean, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, high-ranking diplomats, foreign policy advisers, experts from analytical and research centres, experts on international and security policy from the United States and the European Union.
