Budrys in Ukraine: We cannot allow Russia to emerge victorious from the war of aggression it has launched Activities of the Minister of Foreign AffairsMultilateral[...]

On 31 March, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys is visiting Ukraine together with European Union (EU) foreign ministers. On Tuesday, marking the anniversary of the massacre, the Ministers visited Bucha and met with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov, and other representatives of the Ukrainian Government.

During the meetings, the head of Lithuania's diplomacy emphasized that to achieve a just and lasting peace, the primacy of international law and justice must be ensured for the Ukrainian state and its people.

"We cannot allow Russia to emerge victorious in any way from the war of aggression it has launched . Therefore, negotiations regarding Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are unacceptable. Lithuania was among the first to join the Special Tribunal, through which we will seek to hold the regimes of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko to account for their crimes. "We are ready to continue the necessary work, and we urge other EU partners to become more actively involved," said Budrys.

The Minister highlighted Lithuania's commitment to Ukraine's victory over the aggressor Russia and stressed the importance of Ukraine's EU membership.

"We will continue to support Ukraine politically and provide military, financial, energy, and humanitarian aid. We have committed to allocating 0.25% of GDP annually to Ukraine's security and defense, and we actively support Ukraine's recovery," the Minister said.

Budrys also emphasized that Lithuania's support for Ukraine's energy sector has exceeded 100 million euros and is significant on an EU-wide scale.

"In the longer term, it is important to actively work toward Ukraine's EU accession and set a goal for its membership by 2030. This is a geopolitical goal for all of Europe, and we must accelerate all preparatory work to achieve it," said the Minister.

Photos: Office of the President of Ukraine and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine