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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis and the United States Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya discussed humanitarian challenges facing a war-torn Ukraine and preparations for the Summit for Democracy in 2023.

On 13 July in The Hague, the Netherlands, Landsbergis met with the Netherlands, met with the U.S. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya. The bilateral meeting focused on facing a war-torn Ukraine and the run-up to the 2023 Summit for Democracy.

During the meeting, representatives of the U.S. and Lithuania exchanged information on the situation in Ukraine — besides atrocities and war crimes, Russia conducts mass deportations of Ukrainians, purposefully blocks grain exports from Ukraine, artificially creating obstacles for the country to save the new harvest and seeking to Russify seized territories. The Foreign Minister stressed that it was especially important for international human rights organisations to gain access to the occupied territories of Ukraine and to detainees in Russia. The delegations also exchanged information on planned next steps to ensure Russia’s accountability for its war in Ukraine.

Landsbergis reminded that Vilnius remained the centre of Belarusian civil society's activities. Recently, Lithuania has also increasingly granted asylum to members of Russian non-governmental organisations and independent media representatives.

When discussing the 2023 Summit for Democracy, the Foreign Minister informed the Under Secretary about Lithuania’s readiness to develop and expand on the topic of resistance to authoritarian regimes. Zeya welcomed Lithuania’s efforts to bring together like-minded people and promised the U.S. support to ensure the widest possible geography of the group of like-minded people.
 
Zeya visited Lithuania in November 2021. She took part in a high-level forum 'Future of Democracy', which was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.