Lithuanian president, EU ambassadors discuss support for Ukraine, energy prices

VILNIUS – President Gitanas Nauseda on Monday met with EU ambassadors residing in Lithuania to discuss support for Ukraine and efforts to reduce soaring energy prices.

"Military, financial, humanitarian and other support to Ukraine remains a key task for all of us," Nauseda's office quoted him as saying in a press release after the meeting.

"We must do everything we can to help the Ukrainians achieve victory. Only it will guarantee peace in Europe, peace for all of us," he added.

Nauseda said that the EU has the instruments to contain Russia and prevent future aggressions, adding that he expects the bloc to adopt its ninth package of sanctions in the near future.

At the meeting, the president also underlined the need to hold the aggressor accountable for its crimes, saying that a special tribunal to investigate Russian war crimes would be an appropriate instrument to bring justice.

Speaking about the competitiveness of Lithuania and the EU as a whole, Nauseda noted that it is necessary to strengthen the bloc's internal market and its industrial technological base and participation in industrial supply chains.

"Europe has to work effectively with its partners to secure the supply of raw materials, to develop global standards and to bolster transatlantic economic ties," he said. 

The president also thanked the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, for its ability to single out what is most important, to react quickly and to press for the necessary decisions at EU level.