Speaker of the Seimas: ‘Lithuania is ready to ratify Finland’s membership of NATO’

Press release, 12 May 2022 

 

Today, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Sakari Puisto, Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship with Lithuania Group of the Finnish Eduskunta. The Speaker of the Seimas underlined that Lithuania supported Finland’s decision to join NATO, which had been proven by the Seimas Resolution on the aspiration of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to join NATO, adopted on 10 May 2022. Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen expressed her hope that the accession of the neighbouring countries to NATO would be swift and said she had no doubt that once the accession protocols of Finland and Sweden reached the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, they would be ratified without delay.

 

‘Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, backed by Belarus, has undermined the entire European security architecture. In particular, there is much uncertainty about the security of the Baltic Sea Region, where Lithuania and Finland share a common security environment and face the same challenges. Finland’s role in strengthening the security of the Baltic Sea Region and its interoperability with NATO is therefore crucial. In the long term, Finland’s and Sweden’s membership of the Alliance would make the Baltic Sea Region more stable, as it would raise the threshold for the use of military force, thus reducing the likelihood of a military conflict,’ said Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen.

 

She noted that in the face of new threats, it was essential for the Baltic and Nordic countries to engage in an even closer cooperation.

 

‘In today’s meeting, I also pointed out that Lithuania was particularly interested in strengthening and deepening cooperation and integration between the Baltic and Nordic countries, so that together with Latvia and Estonia, we could become an integral part of the wider Northern European region,’ the Speaker of the Seimas said.

 

Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen also called for Finland’s support to Ukraine in its bid for EU candidate status and support for Lithuania’s initiative of recognising Russia’s military aggression as genocide and establishing a special tribunal. 

Photos of the meeting are available on  the Flickr account of the Seimas.

 

Ilona Petrovė, Spokesperson to Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6030, mob. +370 698 42071, e-mail: [email protected]