On September 25 in New York, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and the heads of diplomacy of the European Union discussed the most important foreign policy issues – the situation in Syria and Iran, the crisis in the Sahel region, the Middle East peace process and the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood.

When speaking about the upcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine, Ažubalis stressed the need to perceive not only the challenges to democracy today, but also the progress that Ukraine had achieved as compared to the previous elections in the country.

“If Ukraine stands a litmus test of its commitment to democratic principles during the forthcoming parliamentary elections, the country will dispel concerns about its geopolitical orientation towards the European Union,” the Minister said.

Ažubalis drew the attention of his counterparts from the EU to the fact that during his recent visit to Georgia with other four EU Foreign Ministers he was given no clear answer as to whether the opposition of this country would respect or not the results of the parliamentary elections.

On 25 September, the Foreign Ministers of the European Union attended the transatlantic dinner, which was hosted by the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.