As the LETA agency was informed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Braže visited Lithuania on a working visit on Friday, where he met with the Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas, Viktorija Chmilītis-Nilsen, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabriela Landsbergis, in Vilnius.
During the visit, the minister also participated in a discussion on current foreign policy issues organized by the Lithuanian East European Research Center.
The officials of the two countries discussed current issues of bilateral and regional cooperation, the security situation in the Baltic region, the situation in Ukraine and support for it, as well as current international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and Georgia. Strategic energy and infrastructure projects were discussed, paying special attention to the “RailBaltic” project.
Braže emphasized the importance of Latvia and Lithuania’s close bilateral relations and cooperation in the European Union (EU) and NATO – both for strengthening the security of the Baltic region and consolidating support for Ukraine – both for its defense and integration into the EU and NATO.
At the press conference for the Lithuanian media, Braže reiterated that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons granted by the West to strike military objects on the territory of Russia, from which Russia is attacking Ukraine, as it is determined by international law. According to her, Ukraine is allowed to strike targets not only in the sovereign territory of Ukraine, but also in those places from which Russia attacks it.
During the visit, the officials of the two countries discussed the next steps of pressure against Russia, including the strengthening of sanctions by adopting the 14th sanctions package and preventing the possibility of circumventing the existing sanctions, as well as holding Russia accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia stated that in the current geopolitical situation, when various activities of Russia’s hybrid war can be observed every day, Latvia, the entire region of the Baltic States and the Nordic countries together, must be far-sighted and coordinated to strengthen security, including the resilience of society, cooperation in the implementation of strategic infrastructure projects and elsewhere. Braze noted that this is the biggest responsibility of the states.
The officials agreed that the connectivity of the region is also critically important, therefore the “Rail Baltica” project is of crucial importance, which will ensure not only population, but also military mobility in the south-north direction.
When discussing the upcoming NATO summit in July, the officials of Latvia and Lithuania agreed that it is necessary to achieve the amount of contributions of all NATO member states in the amount of at least 2% of the gross domestic product. All Baltic countries have already exceeded this goal. The officials also discussed the implementation of NATO’s defense plans and the strengthening of the allies’ presence in the Baltics.
