Security concerns top agenda

VILNIUS - Minister of National Defense Rasa Jukneviciene on June 4 took part in the international annual workshop ‘Global Security - the Growing Challenges,’ reports news agency ELTA This year Germany was the host of the traditional international event, held for the 27th time. The event was organized gathering together senior politicians, representatives of the armed forces and the academic community to discuss the most recent themes of international security.
Major attention at this year’s workshop was devoted to cyber and energy security of the EU and NATO countries, analysis and evaluation of the situation in Afghanistan and questions of nuclear weapons proliferation. Ongoing processes in the Middle East, the Balkan and Latin American region, and the role of non-governmental organizations in the adoption of political decisions were also reviewed.

Jukneviciene joined Latvian and Estonian defense ministers in a discussion over the security situation in the Baltic region. The minister encouraged all the Baltic States to develop regional cooperation more actively. According to Minister Jukneviciene, today there is more security in the Baltic Region than ever before, but there are still problems that should be addressed directly to find possible ways for solutions.

The minister also touched upon reciprocity-based possibilities of improving relations with Russia. In the minister’s opinion, “Russia holds the ball.” This means that efforts by Western states to ensure comprehensive regional security and stability may prove futile without Russia’s determination to implement changes and have an interest to improve the relations fundamentally.