Lithuania marked its entry into NATO last week and its longstanding partnership with the US as leaders look to the increasingly complex security landscape unfolding around the world.
President George W. Bush visited the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius 20 years ago to welcome the country’s still-growing NATO alliance, applauding the character of member states to “stand up to evil, to have the courage to stand up always danger.” “
“President [George W.] Bush delivered the most famous speech ever made by an American in Lithuania exactly 20 years ago,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “That was even before we were members of NATO, and it was probably the most important security assurance we got before Article Five started throwing its umbrella over us.”
And no time in the last 20 years has seemed more dangerous for Europe than the last nine months after the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
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Lithuania accepted approximately 67,000 Ukrainian citizens between February 24 and October 10. The country’s distance from both Ukraine and Russia does not provide much comfort, as it borders Belarus, which has remained Russia’s staunchest ally during the invasion.
Landsbergis highlighted the threat Russia poses to Europe, but also Lithuania’s proactivity to be ready for what comes next.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, spoke to Fox News Digital about the difficult challenges facing his country from Russia and beyond.
(Photo by Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
“There is definitely no bigger threat, geopolitical and military, than Russia,” he said, noting that Lithuania and some other neighboring countries tried to raise the alarm before the start of the invasion.
“Obviously, the point is that the countries that share their border with Russia have few illusions about what Russia really is even before the war,” Landsbergis explained, pointing to the 2008 invasion of Georgia and the 2014 offensive in Crimea.” We have always been asking for more attention to the eastern flank as well, so that it is better defended.”
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“Although… we are doing our part, we still need more allied troops in Lithuania and other countries,” he added. “Given recent events, what we have seen in Poland just a week ago, we believe that while we are talking about reinforcing [the] This flank, first of all, has to be better air defense, better anti-missile defense, because we believe that it would be… the first line of defense.”
Landsbergis agreed with reports that Russia has shown no readiness to use nuclear weapons, but said Lithuania is taking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric “quite seriously” and is discussing precautions with regional partners.
Protesters with banners reading We are all Ukrainians today, and national flags of Ukraine, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, during a protest against Russian live-fire attacks on Ukraine, outside the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission in Taiwan, on Taipei, Taiwan, February 25, 2022. Several Western countries, including the US and the UK, have imposed sanctions on Russia, and members of the Baltic States, including Lithuania and Estonia, show their support for Ukraine.
(Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
But just as important as the threat posed by Russia, Lithuania also has its eye on other countries seeking to change the “rules-based global order,” such as China.
Lithuania has already found itself in trouble with China after allowing Taiwan to open a trade office in Vilnius, prompting Beijing to downgrade diplomatic ties with the European nation, including over alleged discriminatory trade practices.
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Beijing denies blocking Lithuanian imports, including products with Lithuanian-produced parts. The founder of chipmaker Brolis Group, Kirstijonas Vizbaras, told the New York Times that he turned Lithuania into a “toxic label.”
Landsbergis explained that tensions preceded that move, with Lithuania blocking China’s ability to invest in vital infrastructure such as airports, rail systems and seaports.
25 May 2022, Norway, Kristiansand: Gabrielius Landsbergis, Foreign Minister of Lithuania, arrives for the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Baltic Sea Council. Founded in 1992, the Baltic Sea Council is a political forum for regional cooperation. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa (Photo by Fabian Sommer/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
((Photo by Fabian Sommer/images alliance via Getty Images))
“All of our main investors come from Western European countries or from the United States, and I think it could be an example, because it is not just a political decision, it is also a national security decision,” the minister said.
“We have been forced to adapt to very, very harsh measures imposed on us by the PRC, and in many cases our businesses have adapted, finding new suppliers, new supply chains and building more resilience in case these types of actions would be repeated against us in the future”.
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Landsbergis also applauded the increased attention paid to Iran and its actions, especially given the greater ties developing between Moscow and Tehran.
Iran has provided some weapons to Russia, such as drones, for use in the war in Ukraine, reframing the impact that the Biden administration’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could have beyond the borders of Iran.
“One of the tools and instruments that we have to do that is sanctions,” Landsbergis said. “Therefore, I proposed in the formats in which I can do that in Brussels, to sanction Iran more severely.”
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“I think there’s a new momentum to take a bit of a stronger stance when it comes to not just the regime we’ve talked about, but also Iran,” he added, saying he would be “quite surprised” if the JCPOA “went forward.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
