No peace, justice without victory, Russia cannot be trusted – Lithuania's Landsbergis

  • 2023-02-24
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – As Ukraine marks the 1st war anniversary on Friday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says only Kyiv's victory can ensure peace and justice, adding that Russia cannot be trusted.

"There can be no just peace without victory, and there can be no justice without victory, as we cannot trust that Russia will hold to the peace if there is no victory for Ukraine," Lithuania's top diplomat said in New York on Friday.

Landsbergis made the remarks after the United Nations General Assembly's Thursday's meeting where members voted by an overwhelming majority in favor of Russia's "immediate and unconditional" cessation of the war.

The resolution also called for a "just and lasting" peace.

China abstained during the vote and later issued a 12-point document on a "political settlement" of the war in Ukraine and called on Ukraine and Russia to negotiate.

For his part, Landsbergis says these proposals should be treated with caution.

"On the one hand, the plan speaks about respect for sovereignty. On the other, it eludes that the country cannot choose its security, it cannot choose the alliances it needs to take and cannot chose to stay sovereign," the Lithuanian minister said.

Meanwhile, Latvia's top diplomat said Russian forces should, first of all, withdraw from Ukraine.

"A just peace and the international order can be restored only based on the principals of UN Charter. The Russian troops need to get out of Ukraine and only then we can start speaking about a just peace," Edgar Rinkevics said.

In his words, the only way to achieve a lasting peace is to help Ukraine in every possible way.

"I think that the next step after the yesterday's vote in the GA is the need to prepare the accountability vote, for a vote on a special tribunal," the Latvian minister said.

For his part, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu says Estonia supports Volodymyr Zelensky's 10-point peace plan.

"All the Baltic countries have recognized this aggression war as a genocidal act and I call all the nations on Earth to follow," he said.

Ukraine has announced a 10-point peace plan. It calls for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the country and the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute Russia's political and military leadership for aggression.