Ukraine and Lithuania have strong relations based on support and partnership, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda following today's talks in Kyiv.
He noted that during the meeting of the Council of Presidents the parties discussed a wide range of issues and priorities of cooperation.
"Lithuania for Ukraine is not only a partner, like-minded country, ally, but also a true friend. There is a saying: "A friend in need is a friend indeed". In 2014, when trouble came to Ukraine, war came, we clearly saw who really is a friend. Who is ready without hesitation and fear to stand with us on our side - the side of truth. Lithuania was just such a country," the President said, adding that Ukraine will always remember this.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded that this year will be significant in bilateral relations: Ukraine Reform Conference will be held in Vilnius, celebrations on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, the first Crimean Platform summit, and in December the countries will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Lithuania.
The President of Ukraine thanked Lithuania and all its people for the constant support of Ukraine, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, because it knows what difficult efforts our country makes to bring peace to Donbas and deoccupy Crimea.
"We are grateful for Lithuania's position on strengthening international sanctions against Russia, which should be maintained until Russia’s full implementation of the Minsk agreements and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
According to him, during the talks today, the parties noted alarming trends for the security situation in east Ukraine, growing provocations and attempts to disrupt the ceasefire, lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements by Russia, which proves the need for a stronger response from the international community to Russia’s actions.
Therefore, Ukraine is initiating the creation of an international platform in Kyiv - the Crimean Platform, the President of Ukraine reminded and thanked Lithuania for its readiness to participate in it practically and actively.
"I am convinced that all democracies in the world that respect international law must unite: to protect the rights of our citizens, to protect the Crimean people and to deoccupy the peninsula. But even after resolving the Crimean issue and restoring justice, the world cannot be sure that no other country will suffer from the occupation. Therefore, another important goal of the platform is to find and develop mechanisms that in the future will allow to effectively and quickly counteract any attempts to occupy any territory on the planet," the President of Ukraine concluded.
President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda noted that his country has always been close at a time when Ukraine was defending its freedom. It is the same today, he stated.
"And now on Ukrainian land I say - Lithuania stands by you. I declare my firm support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration. And today I am pleased to state that we have confirmed this support in the Joint Declaration we signed with President Zelenskyy," he said.
Gitanas Nausėda also noted that Lithuania sees Russia's aggression against Ukraine and an increase in the number of violations and has always supported and will continue to support Ukraine's desire to fight the aggressor.
He also expressed support for the initiative of the President of Ukraine to establish the Crimean Platform and called on the world community to continue the policy of sanctions against the aggressor country.
"We stand for implementing the Minsk agreements, but we cannot watch Russia not fulfilling its obligations without any response. We do not see Russia's efforts to end the war in Donbas, and therefore we invite democracies to strengthen sanctions against Russia. Lithuania does not recognize the annexation of Crimea and actively declares it a crime, both in the European institutions and in the UN. We say: Crimea is Ukraine. We support the Ukrainian initiative to create a Crimean platform that does not recognize the occupation of Crimea," Gitanas Nausėda summed up.
The President of Lithuania also announced that the Ukraine Reform Conference will be held in Vilnius on July 6, and the President of Ukraine has already agreed to participate in it.
"This event will be a great opportunity to discuss the support of the international community for Ukraine," the Lithuanian President added.
