The meeting was followed by a press conference between the two Presidents. During the press conference, Mr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the people of Lithuania and stressed that this visit was not only about appreciation.
„Dear Mr President, dear friend, all of you here, dear journalists, dear Lithuanian people, today is my first foreign visit this year, and this visit is to Lithuania. This is not only a visit of gratitude, but also a visit of mutual trust between us, the peoples who live in the neighbourhood of Russia.“ Mr Zelensky began his speech in Ukrainian.
He said that he had discussed with President Nausėda topics that are important today for both countries' security, development and people, as well as for relations with other nations of the free world.
„Yes, we have all had the misfortune to have such a neighbour – an inadequate one who brings only misfortune, who tries to enslave us, but we will never again become hostages of our geographical position; we will not allow Russia to destroy either our statehood or yours,“ said Mr Zelensky.
The President of Ukraine pointed out that the Ukrainians have proved that Russia can be stopped. He said the most important thing for the Ukrainians is to win the peace that Ukraine itself wants.
„In many ways, this year will be a decisive year for us, for Lithuania and all our partners in the free world. We must understand together what decisions we expect this year. Our unity will help us to ensure that. They must be decisions in favour of our common freedom and a fair peace, „ continued Mr Zelensky.
He said that he wanted to use this visit to Lithuania and subsequent visits to the other Baltic States to show that freedom and independence are the most important things, especially for those countries that feel threatened by Russia.
After the bilateral meeting, the Presidents of Lithuania and Ukraine signed a joint statement, „Together to Victory! Разом до перемоги! Together until the victory!“ in which they underlined the strategic ties between Lithuania and Ukraine, their shared values and their unwavering determination to defend Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The President of Ukraine once again expressed his gratitude for Lithuania's military and other support to Ukraine. He said that immediately after the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, Lithuania did provide weapons to help Ukrainian troops repel the Russian offensive.
„To this day, your support – regarding weapons, equipment, and training – has been critical to us. I am very grateful for the support we agreed on,“ emphasised Mr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader also thanked Lithuanian politicians for supporting his country's path towards joining the NATO Alliance.
Mr Nausėda underlined Lithuania's readiness to continue to support Ukraine in all its military, economic and political aspects. He stressed that 2024 we will need to speak even louder about Ukraine internationally. According to the Head of State, war fatigue must not be allowed to set in, and the intensity of international support must decrease.
„We believe that Ukraine will win this war, and we will support you until victory. There has never been and will never be any other option for us. We are actively mobilising our allies to provide all necessary support to Ukraine, especially military support.
We strongly support Ukraine's EU and NATO membership aspirations and stand ready to help Ukraine on the path to transatlantic integration,“ said G. Nausėda.
Zelensky: We must understand that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova could be next
Asked by journalists after the statement about Ukraine's current arms stockpile, Mr Zelensky said he wanted to start his answer with a positive signal.
„The kind of bilateral agreements we signed today with Lithuania – we will sign more of them in the future. We are all well aware of the general shortage of weapons in the world – not only ours, but also the empty warehouses all over the world, and the many challenges to global defence“, said Mr Zelensky.
That is why, he said, Ukraine is interested in joint production of weapons with foreign partners – it has already started this work with the US and European partners.
„However, we cannot produce modern air defence systems with foreign partners in the near future. This is something that is in very short supply“, he admitted.
The Ukrainian President was also asked whether he feels pressure from the West to start negotiations with Russia. Mr Zelensky denied this.
„There is no pressure from our partners to stop our defence. I will not say „stop military action“ because it is our defence, our fair fight. In this case, there is no pressure to freeze the conflict for the time being – there are different voices, including the media; I hear and know all this. But our partners are not prepared to give us such signals. At least I have not heard it personally“, he assured.
Mr Zelensky also drew attention to the rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
„He will not stop – he wants to occupy us completely. The inaccuracy of the partners, the incomplete conviction of the result, the financial and military support to Ukraine, and the speed of their reaction only add strength and faith in the Russian Federation. Until the Russian President destroys Ukraine, there will be no respite.
After Ukraine, you know very well who is at risk. War is a tragedy, and there is no positive here. We have to realise that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may follow us“, he warned.
Nausėda: If the Washington summit stands „in the same place“, it will be a failure
At the same time, journalists asked Nausėda what should be done to make the Washington NATO summit more successful for Ukraine than the one in Vilnius last year.
„Focusing on the National Annual Progress Programme aspect is very important. It would be nice to see it successfully implemented and become another incentive to demonstrate Ukraine's strong will to move closer to NATO“, said Mr Nausėda.
He stressed that if the Washington NATO summit „stands in the same place“ as the Vilnius NATO summit, it would already be „a clear failure“. He added that he only wants two concrete things – reinforced air defence for Ukraine and a political solution.
„I would like to get at least one concrete step towards NATO. That's all“, Zelensky did not hide.
Addressing the Lithuanian people
Mr Zelensky's plane landed in Vilnius on Wednesday morning, around 10:30. The visit was not announced for security reasons. This time, he arrived in Lithuania without First Lady Olena Zelenska.
After the meeting with the President of Lithuania, Mr Zelensky also addressed the Lithuanian population from Simon Daukantas Square. He also visited the Ukrainians living here.
The last time Mr Zelensky visited Lithuania was in July last year when the NATO summit was held in Vilnius. The first bilateral meeting between Mr Nausėda and Mr Zelensky occurred in Vilnius in July 2019.
Mr Zelensky left Lithuania later that evening – after his visit to Vilnius, the Ukrainian President travelled to neighbouring Latvia and Estonia.
