Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius and members of the National Defence Committee of the Sejm of Poland who are visiting Lithuania discussed bilateral cooperation and opportunities of strengthening it while facing the current threats at a meeting Thursday.
“The bilateral Lithuania-Polish cooperation is as intense as it has ever been, and in particular, on security and defence. That is determined by the increasing threats from Russia and Belarus. Lithuania and Poland need to cooperate closely as they are looking for credible means of defence and deterrence as we are facing those threats,” said M. Abukevičius.
Vice Minister says that Lithuania and Poland plan to intensify the cooperation between the militaries and to develop bilateral initiatives that would strengthen both nations’ security. M. Abukevičius says he sees a particular potential in cooperation on cybersecurity, one of the priority areas.
Vice Minister and the guests from Poland also discussed Zapad 2021, the importance of the U.S. presence in the region and the military training mission in Ukraine considered by the EU. A significant part of the discussion was dedicated to the hybrid activity that Belarus pursues on the borders with both, Lithuania and Poland.
Led by Chairperson Michal Jach, the Polish National Defence Committee delegation also met with the organizer of the visit, the Committee on National Security of Defence of the Lithuanian Seimas, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis, and visited the border area with Belarus – Medininkai border checkpoint, Padvarionys border control post, and the Border Guard School.
Photo credits: MoD/G.Maksimovicz-Alkema.
