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It is said that nations establish themselves only historically. But let us not forget that this is possible only when history itself is enshrined in the nation’s memory. Among the most meaningful things for Lithuanians today there is the shining crown of our King Mindaugas, Curonian and Samogitian swamps reminiscent of the time of the Battle of Durbe, mail stamps of Grand Duke Gediminas and, especially, the Battle of Grunwald we solemnly celebrated its 600th anniversary two years ago. However, the evolution of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is also full of other significant events, such as the Battle of Khotyn of 1621, the Battle of Salaspils in 1605 and the Battle of Orsha in 1514. And today you speak in the name of Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Moldavian and Russian people, and you speak out loud about another legendary battle – the Battle of Blue Waters.

I am not a historian, so I will not try to forestall the events by telling stories 650 years old. I am also not speaking about the tactics of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas, who joined forces with warriors from Kyiv and Volyn, and marched against the Golden Horde. I will only stress that the events of the time determined milestones in Central and Eastern European history. I am saying this with exhilaration and not only because Lithuania became the largest state in Europe after the battle. More importantly, after Grand Duke Algirdas won Ukraine in a victorious battle, Ukraine won Europe, Christianity and freedom to continue to foster Ukrainian identity.

To some purpose chronicles and historiography describe the time when Ukraine was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as the époque of tolerance, cultural and political freedom. I hope that the “Lithuanian” stage of history was not only a historical respite for Ukraine, but also an inspiration to never be crushed under the yoke of tyranny of some strangers and to give witness to the whole world of Ukraine‘s European nature and choice.

Perhaps the riskiest, but beloved by most politicians is the search for historical analogies today. When we speak about the Battle of Blue Waters, we speak about fluctuations in the consolidation of Ukraine’s civilization and about the time when the country found itself at the threshold of European cultural evolution. This may be very disappointing, but it somehow resembles the threshold at which Ukraine is precariously teetering today. Let us not be naive and let us not be fooled. The battles continue also today and not only on the Polish or Ukrainian football playgrounds. The fight goes on also in the field of politics. Over recent years, Ukraine has implemented considerable political and economic reforms on its path towards the European Union. However, today’s case of Yuliya Tymoshenko shows that the legal framework is being transformed into a political tool, which raises the risks that for want of a battle a war might be lost.  This would mean a big step back for Ukraine and a step back for the whole of Europe. Namely Ukraine’s strategic role is to partly determine whether other Central and Eastern European countries, including Belarus which cannot curb its non-democratic practices, will also step on the path of “affinity” or “exclusion”.

Lithuania both historically and, also today, remains among the closest partners of Ukraine. Our task is once again, just as at the time of the Battle of Blue Waters, to help our partners to resist the lure of authoritarianism and to protect the reputable name of a historical European nation. But only to help, because the primary responsibility, weapons and shields are in the hands of a sovereign Ukraine today.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finally, I would like to stress that I am glad to see the reviving respect of Lithuanians for their past and their roots. I am proud of the fact that also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contributes to the initiatives to perpetuate history, including this conference. This is not the only event dedicated to the memorialization of the Battle of Blue Waters: special educational programmes are planned this year; a special postage stamp, coin and commemorative plaque will be designed; and a series of articles on the significance of this battle will be published.

Next year’s Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union will be especially important for reviving our historical memory. On this occasion, the Ministry has started to implement the strategy of coordination of historical memory projects and is getting ready to acquaint diplomats and societies of the old continent with Lithuanian history. I hope that the initiative of the Seimas to declare 2013 as the Year of the 1863 uprising will give fresh impetus to open an international dialogue on these issues.

And today, I would like to once again thank the organizers of this conference: the Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuanian Institute of History and Jagiellonian University of Kraków, as well as all the participants of the conference. I wish you a smooth flow of the discussions.