DURING THE DISCUSSIONS REGARDING THE EUROPEAN UNION’S MANDATE FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH RUSSIA, LITHUANIA SEEKS SECURITY, JUSTICE AND SOLIDARITY
Lithuanians speaks up for the negotiations between the European Union and Russia regarding the new EU-Russia agreement. However, it is certain that Lithuania’s interests should be taken into consideration.
‘Lithuania is interested to agree on the negotiation mandate. However, we are certain that Lithuania’s concrete interests have to be taken into consideration and they must be named. In our opinion, the solidarity of the EU partners during the negotiations with Russia is an obligatory prerequisite to guarantee not just the Lithuanian interests, but also common interests of the European Union,’ indicates Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas.
Participating in the EU partners’ dialogue regarding the new agreement with Russia, Lithuania seeks to ensure that the EU-Russian partnership would be based on security, including the energy security, and justice. For this purpose, the whole EU must be in solidarity. Lithuania seeks to ensure that its interests are reflected in the declarations that are added to the negotiation mandate.
In the energy declaration, Lithuania suggests to embed Russia’s obligation to fulfil the requirements of the Energy Charter Treaty. Russia is invited to cooperate more actively, while solving the issue of the renewal of the energy supply via the Druzhba pipeline.
Russia’s actions regarding the neighbour countries are linked with the security of Lithuania and the EU. Therefore, Lithuania offers to add an additional declaration regarding Georgia and Moldova. It is sought to achieve that respecting the territorial integrity of the countries and guaranteeing a constructive participation of Russia in the resolution of frozen conflicts, the attained progress of conflict resolution would be regularly estimated until the end of the negotiations with Russia.
Lithuania also suggests to add an additional declaration regarding the legal cooperation, so that justice would be re-established and constructive cooperation between Russia and the EU Member States would be guaranteed in the criminal cases of the events of 13th January in Vilnius, in 1991 and the events of 31st June in Medininkai, in 1991, also in the cases regarding the EU citizens missing in Russia.
Securing of the support for the exiled persons was one of the international obligations that were set out in the conditions for Russia’s joining the Council of Europe. Lithuania seeks to add an additional declaration to the negotiation mandate regarding the compensation to the damages to persons, who were deported from the invaded Baltic States.
Information note on Russia’s commitment to compensate for the USSR committed crimes
Information note on January aggression and the Medininkai crime cases (1991)
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