On April 14 Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis took part in an extraordinary virtual meeting of NATO Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs.
The meeting was held to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan and consult on a gradual finalization of the NATO mission Resolute Support. The meeting officials agreed that the U.S. and allies would start a coordinated force drawdown as of May 1 and would have fully withdrawn by September 11. The allies will continue providing diplomatic, financial and other assistance to the people of Afghanistan and commitments of the Afghan Government to the peace process.
“Our common goal is a safe and appropriately planned troop withdrawal. Allied cooperation will be more important than ever before,” said Minister of National Defence A.Anušauskas.
The Ministers also discussed the Russian buildup of military forces on the borders of Ukraine. All the allies unanimously assessed the actions of Russia as escalatory, concerning and inexcusable.
“Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine’s border is reminiscent of the Russian invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014-2015. Lithuania calls on NATO and the entire international community to support Ukraine unanimously and to send a clear message to the Kremlin that military actions against Ukraine will have severe consequences for Russia itself,” G. Landsbergis said.
Photo credits: MoD archive
