The President of Lithuania and the President of Belarus discussed the current greatest challenge - the COVID-19 pandemic and exchanged views on prevention measures in both countries. President Nausėda offered humanitarian support to Belarus in providing medical supplies and equipment.
The President pointed out the need to secure transit of goods between the two countries. “Lithuania and Belarus have been traditionally cooperating in transportation sector. It is important to ensure uninterrupted movement of goods under these complicated circumstances and facilitate the conditions for Lithuanian and Belarusian carriers to continue international freight transportation,” said the President as he thanked his Belarussian counterpart for cooperation in reparation of Lithuanian nationals via the territory of Belarus.
President Nausėda expressed deep concern over the Ostravets NPP built in proximity to Lithuania. The President stressed that Lithuania did not approve the location of the NPP and its safety was a matter of great concern. The two Presidents also discussed the possibility to allow EU experts to assess the implementation of EU stress-tests requirements before the launch of the NPP.
“The Ostravets NPP, in particular its location so close to the Lithuanian capital, is a painful issue in relations between Lithuania and Belarus as well as in relations of the European Union and Belarus. In our view, construction of the NPP is an additional burden to the Belarusian economy that uses loans provided by Russia and will have to be repaid. True diversification of energy resources could be a solution to mitigate dependency of Belarus on Russian resources and infrastructure. Having completed the diversification process Lithuania has valuable experience and knowledge to share with Belarus in search of alternative energy resources,” said the President after the conversation.
During the video call, projects carried out in the main industrial sectors in which Lithuania and Belarus cooperate, including oil, gas and transport, as well as intergovernmental bilateral economic cooperation initiatives were discussed. The two leaders discussed the Eastern Partnership prospects and ambitions for the forthcoming Summit. President Nausėda reassured that Lithuania would put every effort to ensure implementation of strategic goals of the Eastern Partnership policies. “We have set ambitious goals for the implementation of Eastern Partnership initiatives in Belarus including promotion of economic cooperation, trade, environmental protection and people-to-people contacts”, said the President.
The Presidents also addressed issues of culture, education and human rights. “Lithuania will continue to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Our shared historical past in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania will not only contribute to strengthening bilateral relations, but will also help to develop human ties among our people,” added the President as he recalled an excellent example of cooperation between the countries in organizing the state funeral ceremony of the leaders and participants of the uprising of 1863–1864. The President suggested to jointly approach UNESCO and initiate the designation of 2022 as the Year of Francis Skorina, as 2022 marks the 500th anniversary of the first printed book in Eastern Europe.
The last tete-a-tete conversation between the President of Lithuania and the President of Belarus was back in 2010, when the President of Belarus paid a visit to Lithuania.
