Ninth Three Seas Summit: Leaders of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine Adopt Joint Declaration Condemning Russian War
The participants of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) Summit, held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, adopted a joint declaration in which they expressed support for the idea of creating a more resilient Europe.
This was stated by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
"We condemned Russia's war and expressed our support against the aggressor. We welcome the decision of the European Council to start the accession process with Ukraine and Moldova," Nausėda said.
He added that the Three Seas Initiative also welcomes the establishment of a common interest group within the international transport forum and encourages all interested countries to join.
For his part, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the partners for their support and invited representatives of the Three Seas Initiative to join the Ukrainian Peace Formula and participate in the Global Peace Summit to be held in Switzerland in June.
"It is critically important that each of the partners fulfil their promises regarding the supply of weapons and ammunition, as well as our agreements on joint production. Every day Russian missiles strike, and every day the number of promises increases. Every day, Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline endure the brutal pressure of Russian artillery and guided bombs. The reality must finally start to match the words," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.
He stressed that the number one priority was to strengthen Ukraine's air defence.
"We have an urgent need to protect Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and all our other cities from Russian strikes. I am grateful to every leader who hears us and is ready to help us communicate with other partners so that Ukraine can finally get air defence systems that can help us. They exist in the world and must protect lives," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President of Ukraine noted that today there are challenges due to the delay in US assistance, increased mobilisation in the Russian Federation, and the supply of Iranian "shaheds", artillery shells and missiles from the DPRK to the aggressor.
He recalled that at the beginning of the war, Ukraine did not have modern Western weapons, there was a shortage of 155 mm calibre shells, and now the country has already established its own production.
"We didn't have long-range drones, and today our drones can fly over a thousand kilometres. We didn't have modern electronic warfare systems - today Ukraine produces hundreds of them. But this is still not enough, because Russia attacks absolutely everything. That is why we need help in all these areas," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.