“Lithuania supports Ukraine’s membership in NATO. At the NATO Summit in Vilnius, it must be clearly stated that Ukraine is part of the transatlantic security architecture and the way to achieve accession must be defined. Waiving the Membership Action Plan could significantly shorten the path while establishing a NATO-Ukraine Council would facilitate and strengthen cooperation as soon as now,” Gitanas Nausėda said at the meeting with the President of Ukraine.
The President pointed out that the Government of Lithuania will soon prepare a long-term programme of support for Ukraine.
“We support and will support Ukraine in the war for as long as it takes, until victory. Lithuania is making an all-out effort to provide military, political, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine as it fights the aggressor. This is the choice made by our country, by our people. Lithuania is and will continue supplying weapons to Ukraine. Lithuania is and will be involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The people of Ukraine displaced by the atrocities of war are and will be welcome in Lithuania,” the President said.
Gitanas Nausėda reaffirmed Lithuania’s support for Ukraine in its quest for EU membership.
“I believe that Ukraine will start accession negotiations this year amid the war. Despite the extremely difficult situation, we all see the efforts Ukraine is making to implement the reforms needed for membership. I believe that the European Commission will appreciate this commitment,” the President said.
From Kyiv, Gitanas Nausėda will travel to Brussels, where the European Council is meeting on Thursday to discuss further support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
“The aggressor must be held accountable for its actions and crimes. Impunity would lead to new aggressions and new victims. We must ensure that the sanctions already in place are implemented to their full extent and that any circumvention schemes are blocked. In parallel, we need to prepare the 12th package of sanctions to cover new areas. I will address all of this at the European Council tomorrow,” the President said.
At his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Gitanas Nausėda underscored the importance of placing legal responsibility on the leaders of the Kremlin regime. Lithuania is one of the initiators of establishing a special international tribunal to investigate Russia’s crime of aggression.
