The Presidents of Lithuania and Poland, Gitanas Nausėda and Andrzej Duda, held a phone conversation to discuss the continued strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank and ongoing support for Ukraine until its victory in the war against Russia, according to a statement from the Lithuanian presidential office.
“The leaders of Lithuania and Poland discussed the geopolitical situation, regional security issues, as well as bilateral and multilateral cooperation,” read the statement released Thursday afternoon and quoted Friday by the BNS news agency. “The presidents (…) agreed to continue strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and supporting Ukraine until its complete victory over Russia,” the office of the Lithuanian president added.
Nausėda and Duda also discussed the agenda of the upcoming Three Seas Initiative Summit, which will take place in Warsaw in April, as well as the summit in Vilnius in early June, where the heads of state from Northern, Baltic, and Eastern NATO countries will prepare for the NATO Summit in The Hague, scheduled for June 24–26.
Marking the 15th anniversary of the Smolensk air disaster on Thursday, President Nausėda expressed deep respect for the memory of President Lech Kaczyński, First Lady Maria Kaczyńska, and all others who lost their lives in the crash. He also conveyed his solidarity with the fraternal Polish nation.
The Polish Presidential Chancellery also reported on the conversation between Presidents Duda and Nausėda. “President Andrzej Duda spoke on Thursday with the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda. Topics discussed included preparations for the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw and the Bucharest Nine meeting in Vilnius,” the Chancellery shared on the X platform.
The Three Seas Initiative brings together 13 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary. Its main goal is to boost economic development in Central and Eastern Europe and foster a stable and cohesive partnership among the countries located between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas.
The Three Seas Initiative was launched in 2015 by the presidents of Poland and Croatia. Since its inception, several infrastructure projects have been implemented, including a gas interconnector between Poland and Lithuania.