President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Andrzej Duda of Poland and President Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania have signed the Lublin Triangle Declaration in support of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO. The leaders of the three countries met on December 20 at the Syniohora residence in the Precarpathian Region of Ukraine.
“The joint declaration stipulates clear support for Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO, the fight against Russian aggression," Zelenskyy said following the Lublin Triangle summit.
According to Zelenskyy, the leaders of the Lublin Triangle countries have agreed the program of their actions to support Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration for the year 2022. The summit meeting has shown that Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania share the same views about and approaches to modern challenges.
The Ukrainian president went on to say, “Close cooperation with Polish and Lithuanian partners within the Lublin Triangle is one of the important elements of its activities. It is our first meeting within this format. It has underscored the unanimity of our positions, assessments and approaches to the solution of topical issues our countries face today and regarding key problems of our region.”
Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of maintaining good neighbourly relations. “We are not a member of the European Union. And we are not a member of NATO. That’s why we are seeking friendly relations with our neighbours,” Zelenskyy said and pointed to recent events when Ukraine had assisted Lithuania in border management during a migration crisis provoked by the regime of Belorussian dictator Lukashenko.
“We were the first to respond,” Zelenskyy stressed, “although we are not a member of the European Union and NATO. And today our friends are here with us because they know that now we need their assistance and support.”
Andrzej Duda believes that the national security of Ukraine is of crucial importance and so her neighbours and NATO countries must be ready to help her get stronger.
The Polish president spoke strongly against any concessions to Russia. He called on NATO countries to resist the Russian Federation’s blackmail to get the Alliance stop supporting Ukraine.
“If we look at the situation from a historical perspective then we can draw important lessons when a state with great military potential gives other states an ultimatum. If we agree with the ultimatum then we are going to have a serious military aggression on our hands and as a result the war begins,” summed up the Polish president.
In the opinion of President Nauseda, the same threats endanger the security of Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland. “We are going to do everything possible to become true allies… Trilateral meetings like this one demonstrate the unity and resolution of our countries in the region,” he said.
On December 17, the Foreign Office of the Russian Federation made public a list of demands to NATO. Among other things, NATO must refuse from expansion eastward, not to accept Ukraine as a member of the Alliance, to stop military activities in Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, not to deploy medium and short-range missiles on the positions from which they may attack the territory of the Russian Federation. In response to these demands, Gen. Tod Wolters, the commander of U.S. European Command, offered to increase the Alliance’s military contingent at its eastern borders in the face of Russia’s amassing its troops near the border with Ukraine.
Note: The Lublin Triangle is a platform for trilateral cooperation between Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine for the purposes of deepening military, economic, and socio-cultural ties in the region.
The decision to create the Lublin Triangle was passed by foreign ministers of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland Dmytro Kuleba, Linas Linkevičius, and Jacek Chaputowicz respectively who signed in July 2020 the pertinent joint declaration about the establishing of a new regional alliance.
The newspaper Voice of Ukraine
