As Russia continues to escalate tensions in the region by increasing its military build-up on Ukraine’s borders and in Belarus, chief foreign policy and national security advisers to the Presidents of the neighboring countries – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland – gathered in Vilnius for their traditional coordination meeting.
The participants of the meeting unanimously agreed that Russia’s ultimatums to the West clearly demonstrated Russia’s ambition to revise European security architecture and world order – based on respect for human rights, international law and agreements – which were built with great effort after the Second World War and to return the world to the power of the strong and to the denial of the right of states and nations to be free and to choose their own path.
The meeting emphasized that it is now more important than ever to mobilize and defend the values that are an essential element uniting the Western Allies, which has guaranteed peace and stability and has made it possible to achieve collective security that our countries enjoy today. We must do everything we can to prevent any new dividing lines in Europe.
Ukraine is fighting for Western values and therefore it is necessary to provide Ukraine with all possible political, economic and military assistance. Active action by the Allies and concrete support to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself are the best deterrent against Russia’s aggression. The Baltic States and Poland are and will remain among the closest supporters of Ukraine’s sovereignty and freedom.
The participants also discussed the threats facing the region as well as possible joint actions to strengthen the region’s security and defense in the NATO format and emphasized the particular importance of the strong NATO presence in the Baltic States and Poland.