During the meeting, Gitanas Nausėda pointed out that the NATO Summit in Vilnius is symbolic—the presence of all allies together in the neighborhood of an aggressor is a strong message of unity and resolve to defend every inch of the Alliance. He stressed that the decisions taken at the Vilnius Summit need to send the same powerful messages.
In his talks with the French President, the Lithuanian leader underscored the need to make every effort to further strengthen NATO’s eastern flank as the front line of the Alliance. According to Gitanas Nausėda, it is necessary to invest in air and missile defense in the Baltic region, since the Ukrainian experience has shown how crucial air defense is in protecting civilians and infrastructure.
“More allied forces, effective deterrence, air and missile defense are what we need to have a well-protected Baltic region. If we leave security gaps on NATO’s front line, the aggressor will take advantage of them. We see France as a longstanding, trusted ally and look forward to expanding bilateral defense cooperation,” President Gitanas Nausėda spoke.
The President also stressed the need to reach an agreement on increasing defense spending during the Vilnius Summit and to send a meaningful message to Ukraine about its Euro-Atlantic integration.
“I am certain that in this geopolitical context, all NATO countries will be ready to say “yes” to spending at least 2% of their GDPs on defense. We have to be strong and ready to defend ourselves. Ukraine is part of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture, and we need to find a political way to bring Ukraine and NATO further closer together, with Ukraine seeking membership in the Alliance,” Gitanas Nausėda pointed out.
The Lithuanian and French leaders also discussed current issues relating to the EU’s competitiveness, the fight against irregular migration, the strengthening of sanctions against the aggressor Russia and its accountability for the crimes it has committed. On EU enlargement, the Lithuanian leader stressed that the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova should be followed by the next step of launching accession negotiations later this year.
The visit to Paris is part of a series of visits by the President to the capitals of the allies in the run-up to the NATO Summit in Vilnius. President Gitanas Nausėda has already paid visits to Ankara, Berlin, Rome, The Hague, Madrid, and Lisbon.
