Landsbergis: “Russia must be held accountable for its aggression against Ukraine and compensate for the damage caused”
On 18 June, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, the incumbent President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), met with Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, who came to Lithuania.
The meeting discussed the actual issues of Lithuania’s Presidency, progress in strengthening support for Ukraine and ensuring Russia’s accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister urged the Council of Europe to take a more active role in drafting the Statute of the Special International Tribunal, which would meet Ukraine’s expectations and allow to hold Russia’s and Belarus’s highest political and military leadership to account.
“We appreciate the smooth start of the Register of Damage for Ukraine and are working with like-minded countries to increase the number of members joining the Register. The discussion on the modalities of establishing the Complaints Commission must begin as we move towards the second stage of the compensation mechanism. Thus, we are taking small steps to approach the goal that Russia would not be able to evade the accountability for aggression against Ukraine or compensation for damages,” Landsbergis stressed.
In a conversation with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Foreign Minister also proposed to further strengthen international efforts to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Landsbergis also called on the Council of Europe to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children so that the organization could be even more actively engaged in the work to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, is visiting Lithuania at the invitation of the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs. She participates in the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) and the annual conference of the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) “Balancing innovation and regulation”. At the invitation of the Lithuanian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General also spoke at the solemn commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe and the 30th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership in the Council of Europe.
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