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“NATO is united and the NATO allies, the 30 NATO allies, have agreed to a very strong statement in which we strongly condemn the forced landing of a civilian aircraft flying from one NATO capital, Athens, to another. , Vilnius, the capital of NATO “, at a joint press conference with the Lithuanian prime minister in Brussels. Ingrida Šimonyte said the head of NATO.
“It was a very clear and strong political message,” he added.
Reuters reported that NATO had issued a two-paragraph statement last Wednesday condemning the landing of the plane and the arrest of opposition blogger Raman Pratasevičius and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, but did not mention any sanctions against Belarus, nor did it call for the release of politicians and prisoners. The Baltic States and Poland. According to the agency, Ankara has lobbied to soften the statement.
According to Reuters, Stoltenberg’s public statement on the matter was harsher than the statement issued.
Stoltenberg on Thursday also welcomed decisions by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union to impose sanctions on members of the Belarusian regime.
“We need to show that there will be costs and consequences if basic international norms and standards are violated,” said the NATO secretary general.
For his part, I. Šimonytė declared that the NATO statement on Belarus’ actions was “firm and timely”.
“Most of the international community has reacted strongly and immediately, but that is not all. We must continue to put pressure on the Lukashenko regime and the Kremlin,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, the Belarusian regime should release political prisoners and allow free and democratic elections to take place in the country.
Lithuania’s security situation is paradoxical
During the meeting with the NATO Secretary General, the Prime Minister also discussed security challenges, NATO’s presence in the region and Lithuania’s contribution to the Alliance.
According to her, new threats and challenges are currently emerging, including hybrid attacks, cybersecurity, so deterrence and defense in the Baltic states need to be further strengthened.
“We see the situation as a certain paradox – on the one hand, Lithuania has never been more secure than it is now, being a member of so many strong international organizations – NATO, EU, OECD – on the other hand, the situation around us in the The region is not only unstable but it is deteriorating. Therefore, we definitely need to strengthen deterrence and defense as much as possible, “said I. Šimonytė.
He stressed that Lithuania is doing its job in this area.
“We spend two percent of GDP on defense. But I would say that this is not the end, we have even more ambitious goals for the next decade. We understand that security is first and foremost our own responsibility, so we must do everything we can. we can, and also do more with our partners, ”said the Prime Minister.
Speaking about Russia, J. Stoltenberg said that we must speak to this country in two directions, both as deterrence and when discussing the future.
“I look forward to President Joe Biden’s visit to Brussels. I am sure that when we meet, we will discuss a wide range of issues, including NATO relations with Russia. … Then Biden meeting with leaders from NATO, he will travel and meet with President Vladimir Putin. This is in line with NATO’s twofold approach to Russia, “said the NATO chief.
“We need deterrence, defense, but also dialogue,” he added.
According to Stoltenberg, this would reduce tensions between the West and the Kremlin.
The visit to Brussels is the first visit of Prime Minister I. Šimonytė abroad under the leadership of the Government.
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