News

On 10 November during the European Union General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels Undersecretary of Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Žygimantas Pavilionis and the heads of diplomacy of the EU states discussed relations between the EU and Russia, preparations for the European Council which will be held on 11-12 December and situation in Afghanistan.

Undersecretary of the Ministry Ž.Pavilionis presented Lithuania’s position at the GAERC meeting and noted that the events in Georgia had fundamentally altered relations between the EU and Russia, and therefore these relations should be continuously reviewed.

“By signing the friendship agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia demonstrated that it had no further intentions to stick to its obligations. This means that there is no guarantee that the events in Georgia would not recur elsewhere. It is now crucial to answer the question how the EU intends to behave in the future, if Russia continues to disrespect its legal obligations”, said Ž.Pavilionis.

“The European Council decision of 1 September was to postpone negotiations with Russia until Russian troops are pulled back to the pre-conflict positions. This is not just Lithuania’s position, it is a common EU position, which is based on the agreements, that have been reached with Russia by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is currently presiding over the EU. Lithuania consistently adheres to this position and will do so in the future”, said Ž.Pavilionis.

The EU foreign ministers agreed to continue to seek that Russia's obligations would be put in practice, including the military’s withdrawal to the pre-conflict positions, the admission of international observers to the occupied territories, possibility for Georgian citizens to return to their previous places of residence and the EU's humanitarian aid to the occupied territories.

“Since there were different opinions on the tactics ant timing of the reopening of negotiations with Russia, the French EU Presidency issued a statement by which it assumes responsibility for future negotiations with Russia. In our view, the resumption of the negotiations at this time is a mistake”, said Ž.Pavilionis.

While discussing on the preparations for the European Council, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs stressed that it was very important that the Council took into account the proposals made by the Commission on the essential energy security issues. In particular, a lot of attention should be given to the specific situation in Lithuania after 2009 and the specific decisions on the Baltic infrastructure links plan.

Lithuania welcomes the fact that the December European Council is going to take decisions on the EU Eastern Partnership concept, which will help to maximize the interaction of the EU and its Eastern neighbors.