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On 1 February, during the visit to Stockholm, Sweden, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis met with the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, the First Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Parliament Åsa Lindestam, as well as the heads of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Defence, and European Union Affairs in the Riksdag.

In the meeting, the Foreign Ministers discussed challenges to European security related to a build-up of Russian military forces near the border with Ukraine and in Belarus, and the importance of the Euro-Atlantic ties in defending the European security order and democratic values. Landsbergis and his Swedish counterpart discussed NATO and allies' contacts with Russia, processes of military integration between Russia and Belarus, as well as a possible impact on the European security architecture and the Baltic region's security and defence needs. The Swedish and Lithuanian Foreign Ministers agreed that the countries would continue to support the EU's common policy towards Russia and highlighted the need to continue the sanctions' policy.

The meeting with representatives of the Swedish Parliament focused on security policy threats arising from Russia’s actions and the situation in Ukraine. The participants of the meeting agreed that the main response to these threats were the united and principled Nordic-Baltic and transatlantic positions. Representatives of the Swedish Parliament also expressed support for Lithuania in the face of the Belarusian regime's hybrid aggression and highlighted the continuation of the EU sanctions in response to the hostile actions of the Belarusian regime.

The meetings with the Swedish representatives also discussed China's political and economic pressure on Lithuania and the EU as a whole. Sweden expressed its support for Lithuania, which was experiencing China's pressure, and for the EU’s decision to refer China to the World Trade Organisation for its actions. Lansbergis noted that China’s violations of the international law were not only an attack on Lithuania, but also on the EU's single market as a whole, and, therefore, a common EU response was needed.

In Stockholm, Landsbergis also met Swedish security policy experts at the Embassy of Lithuania in Sweden.The meeting focused on relations between Lithuania and Sweden in the field of security, as well as on security threats faced by the two countries.


Photos: The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Lithuania in Sweden