News

On 2 June, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis attended a meeting of Foreign Ministers of Canada and the Baltic states in Quebec, Canada. The consultations, initiated by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, were also attended by Eva-Maria Liimets, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, and Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.

During the consultations, the Foreign Ministers discussed joint efforts to coordinate the response to Russia's aggression, including the need to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and to continue its full support to Ukraine. “Helping Ukraine to win the war is the only acceptable option. If we allow Russia to consolidate its political or territorial victories, it will be a huge blow to the international rules-based order," Landsbergis said.

The Foreign Ministers also discussed necessary solutions to ensure energy and food security, the response to cyber and hybrid threats, including societal resilience to disinformation.

During the bilateral meeting, Landsbergis and Joly discussed bilateral political, economic and cultural cooperation between Lithuania and Canada. “Lithuania and Canada are and will remain close friends. We share a common commitment to democratic values and to the strengthening of the transatlantic link, which is the basis for further cooperation,” Landsbergis said.

During their visit to Quebec, the Baltic Foreign Ministers also met with the Canadian Armed Forces soldiers, who served in the Canadian-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia.

On 3 June in Toronto, Landsbergis will attend a meeting of the Baltic Foreign Ministers with business representatives and will take part in a discussion organised by the Democracy Forum at Toronto Metropolitan University. Landsbergis will also meet with members of Canada's Lithuanian community, which is celebrating the 70th anniversary this year.
 
Consultations between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Canada and the Baltic States are held for the second time. The first meeting took place in October 2020 in Vilnius.