News

On 2 December in Brussels, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Žygimantas Pavilionis took part in the North Atlantic Council meeting. At this meeting NATO Foreign Ministers and their counterparts from invitees - Albania and Croatia - discussed the main issues on NATO’s political agenda: aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine to become members of NATO and Russia-NATO relations. 

While discussing the issue of Georgia and Ukraine’s integration into NATO, representative of Lithuania Ž.Pavilionis stressed the country’s support for Ukraine and Georgia’s membership in NATO. According to the Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry, it is very important to maintain the perspective of integration, which was delineated in Bucharest, and allow those countries to make use of suitable instruments.

Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry welcomed effective activities of the NATO-Georgia and the NATO-Ukraine Commissions. From now on, the Commissions and Annual National Programs drafted by them are playing the most important role in getting ready for the membership in the Alliance. Whether the Membership Action Plan (MAP) will be necessary, NATO Foreign Ministers will decide later, taking into consideration the needs of every country.

During the meeting, Ž.Pavilionis indicated that the Alliance could not return to its usual relations with Russia in the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) until Moscow completely fulfils all of its obligations regarding the withdrawal of troops from Georgia. A concern was also expressed over negative Russian rhetoric and actions that were destabilizing security: intentions to deploy Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region, its retreat from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and unconstructive suggestions of altering the usual security system in Europe.

“We have to review and re-evaluate all the aspects of the relations between the Euro-Atlantic community and Russia, only then we will be able to make a decision on their future. In my opinion, we will have these relations assessed by the next NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in March 2009, but not earlier,” said Ž.Pavilionis.

According to the Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry, a decision regarding activities of the NATO-Russia Council might be made during the next NATO Summit in April 2009.

“I hope that our Alliance will successfully pass the exam of realistic attitude towards Russia and the exam of further cooperation perspectives,” said Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry Ž.Pavilionis.

NATO Foreign Ministers met with representatives of Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) partners (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) for a ministerial working lunch on 2 December.  During the lunch, diplomats spoke up for further enhancement of political and practical dimensions of the Mediterranean Dialogue, continuation of the Annapolis Middle East Peace Process, strengthening of cooperation in combating terrorism and piracy off the coast of Somalia.