Keynote Speech by Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania, at the General Opening of the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum
President of the Republic of Lithuania
March 13, 2024
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Uncertainty was the buzzword for the past several years. Today uncertainty is replaced by war. Russia's war of aggression against independent Ukraine.
But this war is not happening somewhere far away. And it is not really about Ukraine. This war is about us.
Russia aims to trample the very fundamentals upon which our nations, our security and our well-being are built - freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Russia aims to dethrone the U.S. as the leader of the free world, to split our community, to sow distrust and conflicts, and to establish a new world order based on fear and the power of might.
To achieve these goals, Russia is violating all international agreements and obligations, sending ultimatums to NATO and the U.S., meddling and sowing chaos in the Sahel, Middle East and Latin America. This leads to increasingly bloody wars and a more rigid dictatorship inside Russia.
The fundamental mistake would be to believe that Putin's Russia can be appeased by conceding territories. No, the broader war in Europe will not be avoided by sitting quietly and not interfering in the bloodshed Russia is committing in Ukraine.
Just as Czechoslovakia did not satisfy Hitler, Ukraine would not satisfy Putin. Neither would the Baltic States or Poland. None of the European states are safe at the moment!
If someone believes that the island of democracy can be safeguarded under the umbrella of nuclear weapons, I ask: what kind of life and what kind of future this island would have, surrounded by an ocean of tyranny?
If we cannot stop Russia's aggression in Ukraine, Russia will exert its power even more forcefully in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. Others will learn the lesson that using force against Western interests works. The price for our security will go up. And it might become unbearable.
Vladimir Putin has put Russia firmly on the path of war. This sets Russia's trajectory for the foreseeable future. And reveals the intent. All those gains Russia was getting, the impunity Russia was enjoying and the indecisiveness of the free world Russia was facing fueled Putin's ambitions - and his greed for more.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Putin openly justified Nazi Germany's aggression in his interview with Carlson Tucker. Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president, and now Number Two in the Russian Security Council, openly threatens the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Nuclear annihilation threats are flung at other states, both nuclear and non-nuclear, from different levels of Russian leadership. In fact, threats like these have become almost an everyday occurrence.
But these statements cannot be taken lightly or disregarded. We made this mistake before. Neither should these threats install fear and paralyze our actions. On the contrary - they should mobilize us.
Together we are strong - the combined economy of Western countries is more than 20 times bigger than that of Russia. The combined defense spending of all the Allies is three and a half times higher than that of Russia and China put together. The technologies we master are superior to those of the aggressor.
Thus, it is clearly not capacity that we lack. It is our proper appreciation of threats and our will to act that needs a boost. We should stop drawing red lines for ourselves. We need strong and daring leadership that opens new horizons. Just as President Macron said - in the game for our freedom, we cannot take any card out of our hands. But most importantly - daring visions and words need to be supported by daring deeds.
Russia will not stop. It can only be stopped. And it would be better for us to stop Russia in Ukraine, and to do it sooner than later. Because the longer it takes, the more costly it will be for all of us.
To help Ukraine win - to make it win - means producing adequate quantities of ammunition, armaments and equipment, and providing them on time.
And this is a burden we can shoulder. We just need to invest more. Lithuania spends 2.7% of GDP on defense, and this number will rise. We call on all Allies to increase defense spending, too. Assured finances and long-term procurement plans should help boost our industries.
We also need a stronger EU push - the European Defense Industrial Strategy is a welcome step forward. We need the European Investment Bank to increase the scope of its activities and improve access to finance for our defense industry companies.
We need to produce more. And we need to prioritize Ukraine. We cannot proceed in a peace-like mode any longer. Peace can quickly turn into conflict if we are not ready. Therefore, it is in all our interest to prioritize the delivery of ammunition and weapons to Ukraine and European countries. Supporting Ukraine is not charity. It is an investment in our own security!
We cannot risk Ukraine losing this war because the associated costs would be much higher than any gains or savings we could make now. Just as we managed to deal with the challenges presented by COVID, we can also deal with the Russian threat.
For this, we need to cooperate more. We need to use all the available resources, including intellectual ones, to multiply the results.
In a few minutes, I will be opening the Lithuanian-French Defense Industry Forum. There will be companies from Lithuania present, whose products have successfully passed the test of war in Ukraine, along with others brimming with new ideas and open to cooperation. I invite everyone to use this opportunity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Together we can build a response to the threat we all face. And I strongly believe that the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum is going to make an important contribution to this noble task.
I wish the participants of this Forum success. I wish us all peace, freedom, and democracy in Europe!
Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania
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