“Lithuania is well aware that Ukraine is defending not only its own freedom, but also the freedom and democratic values of the entire Europe. We are therefore grateful to Ukraine and its people for their unwavering determination. We have supported Ukraine with all our efforts and will continue to do so. We strongly support President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace initiative, which is grounded on defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Gitanas Nausėda told Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The President of Lithuania and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine discussed the forthcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius. President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that Lithuania is doing its utmost to ensure that the NATO Summit becomes a watershed moment in relations between Ukraine and NATO.
“We believe and are doing our best to ensure that the NATO Summit in Vilnius succeeds in agreeing on long-term practical NATO and allied support for Ukraine,” the President said.
Gitanas Nausėda reaffirmed Lithuania’s strong support for Ukraine on its path to EU membership and pointed out the progress in Ukraine’s reforms, despite the very difficult circumstances. According to the President, it is very important to come to a decision on the launch of Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations already this year.
The meeting also discussed the reconstruction of Ukraine. According to President Gitanas Nausėda, the reconstruction of Ukraine has to start as early as right now. The President underlined Lithuania’s readiness to continue to contribute to reconstruction projects.
We must ensure international accountability for all crimes committed by Russia, including the crime of aggression, the Lithuanian leader pointed out. The President stressed that the establishment of a special international tribunal is the only way to hold Russia’s political and military leadership accountable for the crime of aggression.
