The European Union should concentrate on increasing pressure on the Kremlin rather than debating who should represent the bloc in possible negotiations with Russia, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said on Thursday.
Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus, Budrys said the priority should be stronger sanctions and greater support for Ukraine.
“Now is not the time to be discussing who will take part in the negotiations,” he told reporters.
“We are not talking about names, we are not talking about seats at the table – but we do need to discuss what we are doing to apply additional pressure on Russia, and equally to provide more support to Ukraine so that it can withstand these attacks and move towards victory.”
Budrys said EU member states should now focus on preparing the bloc’s 21st sanctions package against Russia. Lithuania wants the measures to include sanctions on the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom and the oil company Lukoil.
He also called for a full ban on maritime services linked to Russia and restrictions preventing Russian potash fertiliser exports to Europe.
The minister argued that the EU should open all chapters of Ukraine’s accession negotiations in June and agree on further long-term financial support for Kyiv.
“We do not have the right to wait any longer,” he said.
Budrys also stressed the need to strengthen NATO and EU resilience on the alliance’s eastern flank, describing the threats facing the region as “existential”.
“We have to immediately move into strengthening the eastern flank and also introduce additional instruments to improve effectiveness through finances on resilience on the eastern flank,” he said.
He argued that Europe’s future security architecture should be based on deterring Russia rather than attempting to integrate it into the wider European system.
“We have to build strength right now while we have time, with Ukraine at its very core,” he added.
Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Lithuania to discuss recent airspace violations in the Baltic region and possible EU defence initiatives, including proposals for a “European Drone Wall” and an “Eastern Flank Guard”.
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