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The President: We need to strengthen NATO's eastern flank in the air, on land and at sea

President of the Republic of Lithuania

November 24, 2022

President Gitanas Nausėda met with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, who arrived on an official visit to Lithuania. The Lithuanian and Romanian presidents discussed cooperation in security and defense, the reinforcement of NATO's eastern flank, sanctions against Russia, as well as support for Ukraine and Moldova.

The President pointed out that the Romanian Air Force has been part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission since 2007 and that Romanian aircrews will return to Lithuania next year to protect our airspace.

Gitanas Nausėda said that the Russian war ongoing for nine months now shows that if we do not stop Putin in Ukraine, no European country will be fully secure. According to the President, it is necessary to strengthen our defense capabilities, step up support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia.

"This is the path leading to Ukraine's victory and, at the same time, the end of this senseless war. We must work together to ensure that NATO's eastern flank - from north to south - is maximally reinforced in the air, on land and at sea. We need to adopt updated defense plans for our region at the NATO summit in Vilnius next July," the President said.

The Presidents of Lithuania and Romania discussed the tightening of sanctions against Russia. Gitanas Nausėda underlined that the 9th package must be completed as soon as possible. According to the Lithuanian President, it is necessary to expand the list of sanctioned regime officials, to cover the rest of the banks and the Russian nuclear industry, and to step up sanctions against Belarus.

The Lithuanian and Romanian Presidents discussed the situation in Moldova, which is particularly affected by the Russian war in Ukraine and suffers from Russia's energy blackmail. Therefore, it urgently needs both EU and bilateral support. Gitanas Nausėda underlined that Lithuania strongly supports Moldova's aspirations for European integration and is ready to help.

The President said that the October European Council decisions on strengthening energy security and containing energy prices had to be implemented as soon as possible. This is critically important for securing gas supplies in winter and enabling a fast response to contain gas prices.

Gitanas Nausėda awarded the President of Romania with the Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. The state decoration was presented in recognition of the Romanian President's personal contribution to the promotion and development of bilateral relations between the two countries and for enhancing regional security.

Tomorrow, the Presidents of Lithuania and Romania will travel to Kaunas where they will discuss regional security issues together with the Presidents of Latvia and Poland, and participate in the international symposium "The Idea of Europe"