President Gitanas Nausėda is sceptical about bids to end the war in Ukraine with a swift agreement, his office said after his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
“We are sceptical about the desire to end the war with a ‘quick agreement’. We do not believe that a quick ceasefire will lead to a sustainable peace. On the contrary, it could mean a moral defeat for the West and create the conditions for Russia to strengthen its military capabilities, thus further increasing the threat to Euro-Atlantic security as a whole,” Nausėda was quoted in the statement.
The Lithuanian and Ukrainian leaders discussed the forthcoming informal European Council, plans to bolster European defence and possible peace talks in Ukraine, according to the statement.
According to the Lithuanian president, lessons learnt on the Ukrainian frontline and the new things it is introducing are valuable for the development of the European defence industry.
He believes that any possible peace talks must be based on “respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, with strong and lasting security guarantees.
He says Lithuania will stick to its commitment to allocate at least 0.25 percent of its GDP to Ukraine’s security and defence.
Since the beginning of the war, Lithuania has provided more than 767 million euros in military assistance to Ukraine, and Lithuania’s total support to Ukraine has exceeded 1.5 billion euros.
