Lithuanian ForMin: Only NATO membership can provide Ukraine with security guarantees

  Only NATO membership can provide Ukraine with security guarantees and the ability to deter future aggression by expansionist Russia, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Tuesday during an intervention in the session "From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea: Increasing Security and Connectivity" included in the program of the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats.We need courage. We need determination, and this word, 'determination', describes the way we, in Lithuania, see Romania's foreign policy. We consider you a key pillar in the effort to help Ukraine defeat Russian aggression. Your efforts are indispensable, as you transport an impressive amount of Ukrainian grain to the global market. We recognize your spearheading role for the Republic of Moldova's European path, he said.Mentioning the similarities between Lithuania and Romania's experience, Landsbergis said that the history of both countries proves that had they been afraid in the 90s to head towards freedom, democracy and rule-based order, the Soviet empire would still have controlled half of Europe. Because if we are afraid to stand with Ukraine we might be afraid to stand with Lithuania, Romania, or any other country. We need to ensure that Europe and the international community have sufficient will and deterrence power to prevent further aggression and make the aggressor back down. Otherwise, Putin and others like him will have the upper hand, the Lithuanian top diplomat pointed out.Gabrielius Landsbergis encouraged the European course of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine and spoke of possible fears related to the acceptance of new member states in the community.The enlargement of the EU in 2004, 2007 and 2013 proved that European integration was and will continue to be the most effective way to expand the European territory of peace, stability and prosperity. Again we will be confronted with fears: that with [countries from] the Western Balkans, with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, the EU could become unrecognizable and its institutions would not be able to cope, similar fears stand in the way of Romania's admission to Schengen, where it fully belongs, Gabrielius Landsbergis underscored.