Prime Minister meets Slovakia’s counterpart Ľudovit Odor in Bratislava

As part of her working visit to Slovakia, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, met with Slovak counterpart Ľudovit Odor to discuss regional security, support to Ukraine, preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius, and the importance of resilience to hybrid threats.

‘As like-minded allies, Lithuania and Slovakia are well aware of the meaning of Ukraine’s struggle and the need to help it win this war, as well as to ensure that Russia is held accountable for the crime of aggression and war crimes.

Although Russia’s expectations that the West will lack the will to respond to aggression have been dashed, the Kremlin will not abandon its expansionist policy and will remain a long-term threat to NATO.

That is why we need to continue to strengthen the Alliance and I hope that the decisions of the Vilnius Summit will be a considerable step forward in this regard’, said Prime Minister Šimonytė.

‘Russia is a long-term threat to NATO and a fomenter of instability in the region’, the Lithuanian Prime Minister added. ‘This is why our support to Ukraine in meeting its most urgent and immediate defence needs and the required levels of assistance remains of paramount importance.

AS long as justice is not served, the Ukrainians, who have witnessed numerous crimes and lost their loved ones, will not feel that the war is truly over, the Prime Minister stressed.

This is why it is crucial to work together to seek international accountability for Russia’s crimes of aggression and war crimes in Ukraine.

The counterparts discussed the forthcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, noting effective deterrence as a prerequisite for sustainable peace.

‘NATO members’ financial commitments to strengthening defence must also respond to the challenging geopolitical context’, the Prime Minister added.

The Lithuanian Prime Minister expressed her expectation that the Vilnius Summit will give a qualitatively new dimension to the cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, in view of Ukraine’s progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration and in the Alliance’s own security interests.

Among other items discussed were the efforts to strengthen the resilience of democratic societies to hybrid threats, Russia’s attempts to undermine EU countries through disinformation, and the need to minimise dependence on the resources of undemocratic regimes.