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On 6-7 March in Narva, Estonia, the Foreign Ministers and Deputy Ministers from twelve Nordic, Baltic and the Visegrád countries held a meeting, during which they strongly condemned any act of aggression against Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and called on Russia to immediately withdraw its armed forces to the places of their permanent dislocation.

The Ministers also condemned the decision taken by the Federation Council on 1 March, which allowed the use of Russia’s armed forces on the territory of Ukraine, and urged the Council to revoke this decision.

“The situation in Ukraine is critical. Part of this European country - the Crimean peninsula – was taken by the Russian military. The Nordic, Baltic and the Visegrád countries support efforts by Ukraine’s new government to stabilize the situation and declare their readiness to assist Ukraine on its way towards reform, democratic society, the rule of law and the protection of human rights,” the Lithuanian representative, Foreign Vice-Minister Andrius Krivas said after the Ministers’ meeting.

The Ministers also stressed the need to send an EU-led Observation Mission to Ukraine as soon as possible.

In their joint statement, the representatives of the twelve countries reaffirmed their strong support for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia’s aim to seek closer ties with the European Union and for the signing of the Association Agreements in the immediate future.

In Narva, the Ministers also discussed prospects for other Eastern Partnership countries, security policy and the significance of joint energy and transport projects in Europe. The Ministers highlighted the need to accelerate the development of the internal energy market and energy infrastructure, especially gas connections projects and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals. The discussion also touched on the potential of LNG imports from the United States with a view to diversifying Europe’s energy sources.

On the eve of the meeting, the Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister attended the opening ceremony of the new electricity transmission connection EstLink 2 between Finland and Estonia. A.Krivas welcomed Estonia and Finland’s further step towards the enhancement of the region’s energy security, which will facilitate the creation of the EU’s single energy market.

The meeting was organised by the Foreign Ministries of Estonia, current coordinator of activities of the Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8), and Hungary, current chair of the Visegrád Four group. This is the second meeting, which continued a discussion of the twelve countries on topical European issues. The first meeting took place in Gdansk, Poland, last February.

On 6 March in the Narva Castle, A.Krivas also attended the opening of an exhibition, dedicated to the reconstructed Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.

Photos: Estonian MFA