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According to the Prime Minister, Lithuania has never been safer despite rising tensions with neighboring Belarus and Russia.
Ingrida Simonyte told the Financial Times that the forced landing of a Ryanair flight between Athens and Vilnius by Belarus and the confiscation of a dissident on board proved that “nothing can be ruled out” and ” of being prepared for anything ”with the president’s regime Alexander Lukashenko.
NATO has done it enhanced security in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland since the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia. Multinational battalions have been stationed in each country, led by the United States and Germany, and air policing has increased.
“Paradoxically, Lithuania has never been safer than it is now. Unfortunately, the region is becoming more unstable than it was ten years ago.
“Some things that could only have been imagined, such as the redrawing of countries’ borders, have really happened, ”Simonyte said.
Lithuania has become one of the most outspoken defenders of liberal democracy, attracted by dissidents such as Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Roman Protasevich, the activist journalist arrested last Sunday.
He has repeatedly warned Western countries of the dangers of being soft on Russia, and in recent months has confronted China, calling its repression of the Uyghur minority a genocide and withdrawing from the 17 + 1 group of countries. of Central and Eastern Europe and Beijing.
The Lithuanian prime minister said it had been essential for the EU to react quickly to Belarus’ forced landing of the plane, as the Minsk strategy was “a complete oppression of all the freedoms we love in the EU. “.
Simonyte added that the EU should consider “all kinds of sanctions”Against the Lukashenko regime, which included different sectors of its economy, its ability to raise money in financial markets and participation in the Ostrovets nuclear power plant near Vilnius, which Lithuania has long opposed. of time.
Simonyte would not discuss the countermeasures taken to protect Belarusian dissidents and a key ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is also in Lithuania.
“We all know the history of novichok to the United Kingdom. I fear they are regimes where nothing is ruled out. We remain alert, we remain prudent “, he added.
The Baltic states have been reassured by the security commitments of NATO and the United States in recent years, as well as by its own track record of meeting the military alliance’s goal of spending more than 2% on defense.
But its Nordic neighbors Sweden, Norway and Denmark do sounded the alarm on Russia’s activity in the Baltic Sea area stir a increase your own spending.
Simonyte said more needs to be done in the Baltic countries, especially when it comes to strengthening air security. “We are much safer and better prepared than ever before. But this is not the end of the story. This world, based on treaties, values and norms, is being reorganized a bit. It means that we still have before our NATO partners the case that needs to be strengthened even more, “he said.
About the recent US waiver of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will carry Russian gas to the Baltic Sea and has strong German support, Simonyte warned of the economic interests that caused the Allies to “turn a blind eye to some unpleasant things.”
He said the US and Germany might think they were strong enough to resolve any controversy with Russia bilaterally.
“It simply came to our notice then [justified] but it is important not to deviate from the core values. You are increasing your dependence on countries that are not like you, ”he said.
Lithuania has also been under financial scrutiny in recent weeks after the FT reported German prosecutors suspect Lithuanian fintech has been used to steal more than 100 million euros Phone card before it collapsed last year.
Simonyte said Lithuania “was not a country that would become one blind eye about some dubious activities in exchange for having more players in the market ”.
He said no further regulation was needed, but perhaps more resources were needed, especially for the financial police.
He said Lithuania’s central bank paid close attention to the security risk of countries such as Russia and Belarus trying to exploit the financial system by closely checking owners, the source of money and “any link to the regimes”.
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