G. Landsbergis and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe agreed on support for Ukraine

As announced, G. Landsbergis met with the General Secretary on Thursday. M. Pejčinovič Burič is participating in the Future of Democracy Forum organized in Vilnius at the invitation of the Minister.

During the meeting, the topical issues of cooperation between ET and Lithuania in the context of the changing geopolitical situation and Lithuania’s upcoming chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in May-November next year were discussed.

Officials identified support for Ukraine in the face of brutal aggression as the main goal of the activity.

“Strong support for Ukraine will be the highest priority of the Lithuanian presidency. The chairmanship will allow us to further strengthen the role of Vilnius as a center for global meetings and exchange of ideas between the forces of freedom and democracy and will contribute to the spread of the values ​​defended and represented by the Council of Europe,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania emphasized.

Lithuania will take over the chairmanship of the ET Committee of Ministers from Liechtenstein next May.

The priorities of the Lithuanian presidency will ensure the continuity of ET activities: the implementation of the decisions made during the ET Reykjavík summit will continue.

According to the ministry, all kinds of support to Ukraine will include the implementation of the ET action plan for Ukraine, the strengthening of democratic institutions, ensuring the proper functioning of the Damage Register, and the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children.

The Lithuanian presidency will also focus on strengthening democracy in the region, and will continue to support the democratic opposition of Belarus and Russia and independent media.

Lithuania will seek to strengthen the ET itself, so that only citizens of the ET member states remain in its secretariat. Among other priority topics of Lithuania’s presidency will be gender equality, the fight against corruption and disinformation.