Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Monday said the European Union’s 20th package of sanctions against Russia has been delayed due to election campaigning in Hungary, but expressed confidence it will eventually be adopted.
“The sanctions package could have been adopted on February 24, marking the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the process was prolonged due to the resistance of two European Union states,” Nausėda told reporters.
“I don’t think this is some kind of principled resistance, but given that we are living in a pre-election period in Hungary, this complicates decision-making at the EU level,” he added.
Nausėda said Lithuania’s position remains strong. “We want the twentieth sanctions package not only to be adopted, but also to be adopted as broadly as possible,” he said. He noted that the package is expected to target financial institutions, “shadow fleet” vessels, and expand the list of both sanctioned companies and individuals.
Earlier on Monday, Asta Skaisgirytė, the president’s top foreign policy adviser, argued that, even if the war in Ukraine ended, lifting sanctions on Russia would be harmful to both Lithuania and the broader Western community.
“If the war ended and sanctions against Russia were lifted, it would enable Russia to continue arming itself, to continue preparing new provocations, and perhaps to plan further aggressive actions. So, lifting sanctions would unequivocally be a bad thing for us and, I believe, for the entire Western community,” Skaisgirytė told LRT.
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