Europe must pay its share for security with Ukraine

Former Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

The diplomat noted that when speaking to Western audiences, he usually tries to convey Ukraine’s true significance and central role, since the Russian threat will not go away on its own.

“We cannot just go to bed, wake up in the morning and, you know, oh, everything is fine. It won’t be like that, unfortunately. Certain fundamental things are broken… We’re talking what the world order will look like in the future. We’re living it. You know, if we still think that we’re living in 2021, no. It’s already a new world order,” Landsbergis said.

According to him, when it comes to practical things, that means speaking “about security guarantees…, like real security guarantees to Ukraine.”

“That means that we also have to go from the strategic communication where we will say we are giving security guarantees to Ukraine if Putin allows. If it’s only in Western Ukraine, we will withdraw if Putin attacks again.  I mean, to kind of confront those, you know, ideas with an uncomfortable truth. So, unfortunately, this won’t work that way. If we want to help Ukraine, well, we will have to pay the price, because Ukraine is paying the price for us,” the former Lithuanian Foreign Minister emphasized.

Read also: Foreign Ministers of Lublin Triangle call for urgent reinforcement of Ukraine’s air defenses

As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared Russia’s recent attack on Poland to the situation in Crimea, noting that Russian drones are now playing the role once performed by the so-called “little green men.”