Lithuania FM warns Baltics must gird for war as West's aid to Ukraine risks forcing compromise victory
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Lithuania must prepare for war with Russia and strengthen regional military cooperation, as Ukraine may not win the war, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis stated on Nov. 24, Polish outlet TVP reports.
Landsbergis was speaking during the presentation of a plan to prepare for a military threat from Russia.
"We must openly acknowledge that the support provided to Ukraine may not be enough to win the war," Landsbergis said.
He did not rule out that Ukraine would be forced to negotiate with Russia, and this would mean a victory for Russia.
"It will be the day when we start counting down the time to the next war. Russia’s war with another neighbor," the minister said.
Lithuania should wake up from the "pleasant stagnation of peace," urgently take measures to strengthen its defense and prepare for the "worst-case scenarios," Landsbergis said.
As for specific steps, he called for the completion of joint strategic communication projects with Poland and a significant increase in military cooperation. Part of Lithuania's new strategy should also include regional partnerships with the Nordic and Baltic countries and "(learning) from Ukraine every day, not only from a distance but also by being there."
According to Lithuania’s top diplomat, his country should allocate 4% of GDP to defense. The draft budget for next year provides 2.71% of GDP for this purpose.
Earlier, Landsbergis said that Ukraine could be forced into peace talks with Russia if the allies fail to supply Kyiv with the amount of weapons and ammunition it needs to win the war.
On Sept. 30, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted the National Security and Defense Council's decision to hold no talks with Putin. This was a response to the attempted annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories.
On Oct. 21, NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov reiterated that there would be no negotiations with Russia as long as it continues to occupy Ukrainian territories. Prior to that, Zelenskyy announced the impossibility of negotiations with Moscow, saying that Putin did not want peace.
On Nov. 4, NBC reported that U.S. and European officials had begun discussing privately with the Ukrainian government the possibility of peace talks with Russia.
One of these discussions took place last month during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein format), which brought together representatives of more than 50 countries.
On Nov. 6, this information was denied by the European Union, and the next day it was refuted by the United States.
On Nov. 21, ABC News reported, citing sources, that the U.S. supply of NATO-standard artillery shells to Ukraine had decreased by "more than 30%" since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh denied this information.
Prior to that, the United States asserted it would be able to transfer long-range weapons and artillery ammunition to Ukraine "for some time to come."
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