LITHUANIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER MET WITH AMBASSADORS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND NATO COUNTRIES
On 18 February in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis held a meeting with the ambassadors of the European Union and NATO states, who reside in Lithuania. The participants of the meeting discussed key objectives of Lithuania’s foreign policy and important issues on the EU and NATO agendas. The Minister noted that good relations with neighbours, as well as deep and thorough integration into the EU and NATO remained the most important priorities of Lithuania’s foreign policy. According to Minister A.Ažubalis, Lithuania supports the development of common EU policies, particularly in the areas of trade with third countries and energy security.
“In order to have common EU policies, we need to reach true consensus and solidarity within the EU. Only then these policies would become a platform for the EU’s relations with third countries,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.
Head of Lithuania’s diplomacy noted that the European External Action Service had to serve the interests of all EU member states. According to him, a certain quota system and geographical balance of representation would ensure the quality of the service, which is very important for the efficiency of the EU’s external policy.
When speaking about NATO’s new strategy, Minister A.Ažubalis emphasized that NATO had to strengthen its capacity as a defence alliance.
“The application of the fifth paragraph and defence planning must serve as a basis for the new strategy,” Minister A.Ažubalis told the ambassadors.
When speaking about relations with Russia, the Minister stressed that the EU-Russia relations had to be mutually binding and constructive.
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