Lithuanian president calls on Czech counterpart to up pressure on Russia

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda met with his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman in Prague on Wednesday and urged him to increase pressure on Russia. 

"We need to expand the existing sanctions for Russia and fully support Ukraine as it is fighting for its people and territory," Nauseda said during the meeting.

Russia continues its military aggression and is destroying Ukraine's core infrastructure, seeking peace talks on its own terms, the Lithuanian leader stressed, adding that related dangers were highlighted by the Tuesday incident affecting Poland, a NATO country.

The two leaders discussed key bilateral cooperation issues, the security situation in Europe and the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in July, the Lithuanian presidential press service said.

During the meeting, Nauseda pointed out to close historical ties between Lithuania and the Czech Republic and thanked the Czech troops for their participation in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence forces and the air policing mission.

Speaking about the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, the Lithuanian president stressed the need to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities, as well as to take Ukraine's aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration into account and to expand political and practical cooperation.