“Lithuania and the Czech Republic enjoy close bilateral relations that have been intensifying, the countries also cooperate on items on the EU and NATO agendas, the Eastern Neighbourhood initiative, and maintain regular regional dialogue among the Nordic, Baltic and Visegrad countries. Lithuania values the contribution of the Czech Republic in ensuring security of Lithuania and the region,” said Linkevičius.
As regards the European Union, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister stressed that the EU faced both global and internal challenges, including the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, regional conflicts, migration, social and economic inequality. The EU will be able to overcome these challenges by working together.
When discussing the Eastern Neighbourhood, Linkevičius emphasized the need to maintain the EU’s focus on the Euro-Atlantic unity on sanctions against Russia until the implementation of the Minsk agreements, as well as the need to support Ukraine’s reform efforts.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister stressed that the construction of the Astravets nuclear power plant in Belarus posed a threat not only to Lithuania, but also to other EU member states.
During his visit, Linkevičius also met with the Czech Minister of Defence Martin Stropnický. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister thanked the Czech Republic for its significant contribution to ensuring security in the Baltic countries, its participation in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission in Šiauliai, as well as for sending 150 Czech soldiers with 30 units of military equipment to Lithuania as rotational NATO forces that had implemented the Alliance’s security measures in the Baltic countries and trained for a few months with Lithuanian soldiers.
“The Czech-Lithuanian joint military exercise not only improved military’s preparedness, but also sent a clear, important message about the Alliance’s solidarity,” said Linkevičius.
The Foreign Ministers also discussed the deployment of NATO’s enhanced forward presence battalion battle group to Lithuania and the forthcoming joining by the Czech troops in 2018.
Linkevičius stressed the importance of the establishment of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki and Lithuania’s readiness to contribute practically to the fight against the new challenges.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also met with the Heads of the Radio Free Europe, gave an interview for the Czech Television, the financial daily Hospodářské noviny and the Respekt weekly newsmagazine.
