On 2 September 2015, Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs, hosted a meeting with ambassadors of the EU Member States residing in Lithuania to discuss the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU and to address some of the most relevant EU challenges at the moment: situation in Ukraine, migration and relations with Eastern Partnership countries and Russia.
When Mr Linkevičius addressed the issue of migration he highlighted that Lithuania is prepared to receive refugees fleeing the war in Syria and Libya in solidarity with partners.
“No one should doubt Lithuania’s solidarity, we assume the responsibility and the only question we raise is the question of fair sharing of quotas. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the European solution to deal with consequences and causes of the problem has still to be found. The EU currently seeks a common solution to the problem, negotiations take place at various levels. We contribute and will continue to contribute to the search for solutions and their implementation in the future”, Linkevičius said.
Referring to Ukraine the Minister emphasised Ukraine’s efforts to implement the agreements reached in Minsk and a completely different stance of the Russian controlled separatists.
“The Government of Ukraine goes as far as making unpopular decisions such as amendments to the Constitution on decentralisation which have a political impact and pose threat to fragile unity within the country. This does not seem to be the case of separatists who show no interest in search for peaceful solutions”, the Minister added.
