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On 14 March in London, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and discussed the bilateral relationship between Lithuania and the United Kingdom, as well as the key issues of security and defence cooperation.

During the meeting, Linkevičius and Jonson emphasized the close bilateral relationship between Lithuania and the United Kingdom, and emphasized the goal of strengthening these ties. Linkevičius thanked his counterpart for the UK’s major practical contribution to the Baltic region’s security. The United Kingdom leads the NATO enhanced forward presence battalion in Estonia. The British fighters have already carried out NATO’s air policing mission over the Baltic states for four times, including twice in Lithuania.

The Ministers agreed on a close security and defence cooperation between the two countries, the coordination of Russia sanctions policy, and support for Ukraine. The head of Lithuania’s diplomacy briefed Johnson about the European plan for Ukraine. They also discussed preparations for the June conference in Copenhagen, as well as the development of relations with other Eastern Partnership countries, cooperation on countering hybrid threats, improving cyber security and resilience to information attacks. Linkevičius stressed the significance of the United Kingdom as a NATO member country. According to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, NATO’s strength is particularly relevant in the context of threats posed by Russia.

“Russia’s behaviour is a certain test to check the unity of the North Atlantic Alliance and its readiness to face modern threats. The deployment of additional NATO troops to the Baltic states and Poland is the most significant step towards strengthening the Alliance’s collective defence after the end of the Cold War. All the Alliance’s defence and deterrence measures agreed upon at the 2016 Warsaw summit must be fully implemented,” said the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.

During the meeting, Linkevičius also condemned the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the city of Salisbury as an outrageous criminal act. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister expressed his solidarity with the United Kingdom and emphasized that the use of a military-grade nerve agent on an Alliance territory was of great concern to Lithuania and the entire international community. “The crime must be thoroughly investigated. We must identify the perpetrators and they should get what their crime deserves,” stressed the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.

During the visit, Linkevičius is also holding meetings with the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Dominic Grieve, Chair of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Lithuania John Whittingdale and other members of the group, as well as with the UK’s principal adviser to the Prime Minister Mark Sedwill.

During the visit, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister will also meet with members of the UK’s Lithuanian community and will participate in a commemorative event dedicated to March 11 at Lithuania’s Embassy in London.