EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders met with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska in Vilnius on Thursday to discuss possibilities for using frozen Russian assets to finance reconstruction in Ukraine.
Šimonytė and Reynders also discussed support for Kyiv, and international response to Russia’s military aggression and war crimes, the government said in a press release.
“Our actions, already now, must send an unequivocal warning message that Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine [...] will not be ignored and that their organisers and perpetrators will not go unpunished,” Šimonytė was quoted.
“We must also find legal ways to use the Russian assets frozen by sanctions to rebuild Ukraine,” she added.
The Justice Ministry said in a press release that Dobrowolska and Reynders discussed legal assistance to Ukraine and international response to Russia’s crimes.
“One of the most important measures that Lithuania actively supports is the establishment of an International Coordination Centre for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression,” Dobrowolska said.
“We hope that the Coordination Centre will be operational soon and we are ready to contribute to ensuring its effective operation,” she added.
The minister insisted the EU must take “concrete steps” to confiscate frozen Russian assets and use them to compensate the Ukrainian people and to rebuild their country.
During her meeting with the European commissioner, Šimonytė also “underlined the need to keep up and increase the pressure on Russia and Belarus through sanctions in a united effort”.
The prime minister said that Lithuania would approve in principle of extending the mandate of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in the process.
Last October, Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia, called on the EU to set up a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s crimes of aggression against Ukraine. The countries say that such a tribunal would also allow bringing Russian leaders to justice.
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