At the Cyprus summit Lithuanian president Nauseda warned strongly against separating Ukraine and Moldova in the EU accession process. He also called for opening negotiation clusters and clarified NATO exercises should complement alliance security.
President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda stated that he currently does not see grounds to divide Ukraine and Moldova on the path to EU membership. He expressed this at the start of the summit in Cyprus, emphasizing the need to open negotiation clusters with both countries and progress toward EU integration.
Nausėda noted that drawing a distinction between Ukraine and Moldova in this process is inappropriate, as both states deserve an invitation to begin negotiations. Lithuania supports the merit principle as the main criterion for EU candidates; countries that actively reform and seek to join the EU as soon as possible should be at the center of attention.
A Look at NATO and Unity of Action
“revival” of Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which is the key to collective security and defense.
– Gitanas Nausėda
As part of preparations for future exercises, mechanisms for applying Article 5 will be demonstrated for countries not part of the alliance. The events will involve Lithuania as a NATO member and Cyprus as a country outside the Alliance.
“For me, it is important that this complements, but does not compete with Article 5 of NATO,” stressed Nausėda.
It is also known that during the summit in Cyprus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is participating.
These statements emphasize Lithuania’s commitment to supporting a unified position on collective security and active steps toward Euro-Atlantic integration for Ukraine, Moldova, and the region as a whole.