The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Gitanas Nausėda, and Karol Nawrocki agreed that the three countries must be effective in their cooperation to protect their sovereignty and their peoples, and that all countries — both in the region and across Europe — should act in the same way.
This became known following the meeting of the heads of state in the format of the Lublin Triangle in Vilnius.
“We spoke today about air defense and how we can strengthen Ukraine. We agreed with both Karol and Gitanas that our teams will continue working on the SAFE and PURL programs. These are very important programs that truly help us”, — Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The PURL program has already demonstrated its effectiveness, enabling European partners to procure missiles for Ukraine’s air defense.
SAFE, however, requires principled decisions: there must be a clearly defined percentage allocated to cooperation and joint defense production with Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also thanked Lithuania and Poland for their support of Ukraine’s energy sector and for assisting people suffering from the consequences of horrific Russian strikes, including through equipment and other aid.
During the meeting, the leaders also discussed the diplomatic process, primarily cooperation with the American side.
The President of Ukraine emphasized that pressure on Russia must not be reduced and that Europe must be sufficiently resolute: stopping Russian tankers, blocking propaganda, and cutting off sanctions evasion schemes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that further joint work is needed to ensure that the institutions of a united Europe are effective and that the European Union becomes a global leader.
“Ukraine must be in the European Union. We all fully understand this. I am very pleased that our partners — Lithuania and Poland — support Ukraine in the European Union. And for us, this is one of the guarantees — as I have said many times: one of the security guarantees for Ukraine is membership in the European Union”, — Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Gitanas Nausėda called Ukraine’s membership in the EU a strategic interest.
“This would be a decisive step to ensure long-term stability, security, and prosperity not only for this country but also for this region — for peace in this region”, — the President of Lithuania emphasized.
He believes it is also necessary to integrate Ukraine into Europe’s security infrastructure and to adopt Ukraine’s experience. Therefore, long-term funding for the Ukrainian army must be ensured.
The President of Lithuania noted that cooperation among the Lublin Triangle countries in the field of historical memory has great potential. According to him, a major conference of Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian historians is expected this year.
Karol Nawrocki stated that 163 years after the outbreak of the January Uprising, Russia remains a threat to Central and Eastern Europe. According to him, this is why it is important to support regional cooperation formats.
“At the Davos Forum, we spoke a lot about the Three Seas Initiative, as well as the Visegrád Group. During today’s meeting, we discussed the activities of the Lublin Triangle in many areas. Our cooperation is quite broad in this regard, and I would like to thank you for the fact that this format remains alive”, — said the President of Poland.
