Baltic, Polish foreign ministers agree to continue supporting Kyiv, enhancing cooperation

VILNIUS – The Baltic and Polish foreign ministers signed a declaration on Tuesday in Riga and vowed to continue supporting Ukraine and cooperating more closely to strengthen "collective deterrence and resilience".

"While being member states of the EU and NATO, we acknowledge the potential to further intensify our cooperation for the sake of mutual benefit," the document reads.

The ministers stressed that cooperation should be developed "on a political and practical level to enhance our efforts to strengthen collective deterrence and resilience and promote economic growth and prosperity of the region and beyond".

The declaration also states that cooperation within NATO is "the cornerstone of our security".

"We reiterate the high importance of continuing political, military, financial support and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," the declaration states.

Moreover, it reads, the Baltic countries and Poland share a similar historical experience of "aggression and severe oppression by revisionist totalitarian regimes during many decades of the 20th century".

Due to our common past, the ministers say their counties have developed a similar understanding of potential threats and the determination to strengthen their security and protect their independence and territorial integrity. The countries say they share a close vision on the actions necessary to deter and defend against security threats in the region.

"Together we have elaborated initiatives aimed at fighting against hybrid threats, ensuring deterrence and defense, strengthening border security, as well as supporting Ukraine that have later been successfully implemented in various forms and frameworks including the European Union, NATO and the United Nations," the declaration reads.