Prime Ministers of Lithuania and Sweden meet to discuss Baltic Sea security, support for Ukraine and bilateral cooperation
On Tuesday, February 7, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė received Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden Ulf Kristersson at the Office of the Government. The parties discussed the bilateral relations between Lithuania and Sweden, Baltic Sea region security, support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia and Belarus, energy security and energy price issues in the EU, and importance of strengthening the Euro-Atlantic relations as well as closer cooperation among democracies.
“We are glad that Lithuania and Sweden are linked by more than geographical vicinity – we are like-minded on many issues, close partners in the formats of the European Union and the Nordic-Baltic Eight. We sincerely hope that already this year we will strengthen our close cooperation when Sweden and Finland become full members of NATO. I hope that this year’s NATO Summit in Vilnius will be more numerous and our region more secure than ever before,” said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.
The meeting focused on security issues in the Baltic Sea region as well as Europe as Russia continues its unprovoked and brutal war in Ukraine. As Prime Minister Šimonytė noted, Russia’s war is an assault not only on Ukraine’s statehood but also on the rule-based international order and the established Euro-Atlantic security architecture, and it is therefore important to accelerate and increase the necessary military support to Ukraine as well as to continue putting pressure on Russia through sanctions and international isolation.
The sanctions against Russia and Belarus, which is supporting the aggression, must include dual-use technologies and components, and it is also important to prevent, to the extent possible, the possibility of circumventing the sanctions. Prime Minister stressed the importance of strategic patience when implementing and expanding the sanctions, which are effective despite Russia’s attempts to convince the world otherwise.
The meeting focused on the security of the Baltic Sea region, which will be further strengthened by the upcoming accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
Prime Ministers Šimonytė and Kristersson highlighted the importance for the EU to be energy independent and discussed how to contain high energy prices.
The parties emphasized the importance of Euro-Atlantic unity and cooperation between democracies in the face of the challenges posed by authoritarian regimes – a close partnership is important to ensure collective security not only in the area of defence but also energy and others.
Prime Minister Šimonytė wished the Head of the Swedish Government, Mr Kristersson, smooth and successful Presidency of the Council of the EU and the implementation of the priorities they have set.