Renewed calls for engagement with Russia do not reflect Europe’s security needs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking at the opening of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s spring session in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Nauseda insisted that Russia has to be “contained, not courted.” He reminded that the future of European security was being decided in Ukraine, stressing that Russia must be stopped before any talks. Nauseda urged all NATO member states to join Lithuania in allocating 0.25% of their GDP per year to provide security and defence support to Ukraine.
Earlier, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that the EU should focus on increasing pressure on Russia rather than discussing who should represent Europe in possible peace talks, BNS reported. Lithuania has proposed that the EU impose sanctions on Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company, Rosatom, and Russian oil company Lukoil, as well as ban maritime services linked to Russia and imports of Russian potash fertilisers. Budrys insisted that Europe’s future security architecture must be aimed at deterring Russia, not integrating it into the system. He added that Ukraine was “at the very core” of the system.
Meanwhile, Budrys said that his recent remarks regarding the defence of Russia’s Kaliningrad region were aimed at countering Russia’s exaggerated narratives on the regional security situation, BNS reported. In an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Budrys said that NATO had the capability to destroy Russian air defence systems in Kaliningrad. Budrys said that his comments were a response to public perceptions, heavily influenced by Russian propaganda, that Lithuania’s security was vulnerable from Kaliningrad. Such narratives harmed Lithuania’s security image and economic attractiveness, he explained.