Lithuanian formin calls on West to care about its own security, not Russia's future

VILNIUS – The West has to be concerned about its own security, not Russia's future, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in Davos on Thursday. 

"I hear increasingly louder concerns about Russia's future, but Russia has to solve its own problems, and the West and the international community have to be concerned about strengthening our own security and about a swift victory in Ukraine," the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry quoted Landsbergis as saying at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort.

Lithuania's top diplomat was one of the keynote speakers at the WEF session on "Russia: What Next?", along with European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. 

Speaking about sanctions, Landsbergis said that new instruments should be sought to deter Russia.

"If we really believe in Ukraine's victory and if we want to help it, we must not forget that the European Union is also a trading bloc that for some reason applies trade regimes that favor autocratic regimes," the minister said. 

"Sanctions against Russia are working, but we have to look for and find new instruments to deter Russia," he added.