Joint Declaration of the Presidents of the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Lithuania
We reaffirm our commitment to the Presidential Council established in 2020 and appreciate its contribution to strengthening our bilateral relations.
We, the Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania and of the Republic of Poland, met in Vilnius on the occasion of the State Visit of the President of Poland to Lithuania on 5 July 2023. We declare the following.
Defence and security
1. We note that the strategic partnership between Lithuania and Poland consolidated in the light of the ongoing war in Europe, focusing our bilateral cooperation primarily on security of our countries and our region.
2. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening the NATO and transatlantic bond – the cornerstone of our security. We highly appreciate the dedication of the Enhanced Forward Presence framework nations and thank all contributing Allies for their commitment. A persistent and increased NATO Allies’ military presence with necessary capabilities in the region and readiness for collective defence remain key elements of credible deterrence in the context of Russia’s aggressive military posture.
3. We also emphasize the importance of a continuous Unites States presence in the region. It strengthens deterrence and helps sustain peace and stability in Europe as a whole. We reiterate our interest and readiness to enhance cooperation and strategic partnership with the US in the future.
4. We remain committed to strengthen the regional cooperation of NATO’s Eastern Flank countries – The Bucharest Nine – which is an important format of our coordination on security.
5. We will continue to share our defence capacities to jointly face external threats, secure the Eastern Flank of the Alliance, including the Suwałki region, and protect the Baltic States by deploying NATO Air and Antimissile defeWe are ready to strengthen our bilateral military cooperation by setting the timetable for regular exercises in order to achieve greater interoperability between our military forces.
6. We look forward to the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius. We expect it will further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern Flank, including putting forward the defence approach in practice with robust in–place, multi–domain and combat–ready brigade–size units, prepositioning of equipment and stocks, as well as rapidly available reinforcements.
- We welcome NATO new regional defence plans designed to protect our people and every inch of Allied territory. Assigning necessary forces and capabilities to those plans is of utmost importance.
- Adequate defence spending is crucial for keeping NATO fit for purpose, including the implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Madrid. We expect an ambitious renewal of the Defence Investment Pledge at the NATO Summit in Vilnius with 2% of GDP as a minimum. We remain steadfast in continuing with high defence spending, increased investments into infrastructure, national defence industries and armed forces modernization, and our obligations to the security of other Allies.
- We look forward to Sweden becoming a fully–fledged NATO member and urge our Allies to finalise Sweden’s membership ratification process as soon as possible.
- We reaffirm our commitment to NATO’s Open Door Policy and firm support to Ukraine’s Euro–Atlantic aspirations. We must upgrade the NATO partnership with Ukraine and anchor Ukraine in the Euro–Atlantic security order. We call for the NATO Summit in Vilnius to offer a clear pathway for Ukraine’s NATO membership to be followed by the invitation to join the Alliance. Ukraine’s place is in NATO and its membership will strengthen the Alliance and increase security in Europe. In light of Russia’s war of aggression, the Summit should also enhance NATO’s short– and long–term practical and military support to Ukraine.
- We remain committed to support the reforms and Euro–Atlantic aspirations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova. We will aim at strengthening those countries’ partnership with NATO. At the NATO Summit in Vilnius, we expect to further step up NATO cooperation with like–minded countries, in particular with Indo–Pacific partners and with the European Union in tackling a wide range of common challenges.
Russia’s war against Ukraine
7. We condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion and its brutal war against Ukraine. We call on Russia to unconditionally withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine. By violating Ukrainian independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Russian Federation, with considerable support from the Republic of Belarus, poses a threat to the values– and rules–based international order. Our democratic community must show unity and perseverance in countering the aggressor.
8. We take note with great concern of the fact that Russia is committing daily war crimes, deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and inflicting abhorrent suffering to Ukrainians daily. The recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam and the subsequent inundations are a blatant escalation of the war. Russia continues weaponizing energy and food, causing global shortages and perturbances in supply chains and thus making the rest of the world suffer. Russia is significantly threating nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, in particular by the illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The continuous use of nuclear blackmail as well as the recent process of deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus significantly increases the risks of escalation. We call on the international community to take necessary actions against the unsafe Astravets Nuclear Power Plant built and managed by Rosatom.
9. We underline the importance of ensuring the accountability of Russia, especially its international crime of aggression. We will consistently support all legal efforts aimed at bringing justice to Ukraine and its people, including the establishment of an ad–hoc international special tribunal for the crimes of aggression against Ukraine that could judge Russian leaders in absentia.
10. We are concerned about Belarus' deepening dependence on Russia which is dramatically changing the security situation in our region. Belarus shares responsibility with Russia in the war of aggression against Ukraine. We call on Belarus to refrain from supporting Russia, stop repressions towards its civil society, including the Polish and Lithuanian national minorities and start democratic dialogue with the Belarusian civil society.
11. Lithuania and Poland will push for the continuous tightening of individual and sectorial EU restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus. We will put an increased emphasis on countering the circumvention of sanctions through third countries.
12. We remain committed to tightening cooperation with Ukraine within the Lublin Triangle format, and we will continue to support Ukraine militarily, politically, economically, and financially. We will coordinate our efforts, bilaterally and within the EU and NATO, in helping Ukraine to reconstruct the country, strengthen its resilience, and implement all the reforms on its European and Euro–Atlantic path.
Interconnectivity and synchronisation
13. We emphasize the strategic importance of common infrastructural energy, transport and military mobility projects between Lithuania and Poland. These include the construction of Rail Baltica, Via Baltica and Via Carpatia. Last year, the gas interconnector GIPL started operating, integrating the Baltic countries and Finland into the EU gas transmission network. Synergy with the Klaipėda LNG terminal allows our countries to have alternative gas sources, thus enhancing the security of our energy supply.
14. We recognize the successful integration of the Lithuanian and Polish electricity systems through the LitPol Link interconnection, as well as the implementation of a number of other strategic projects essential for safe and secure autonomous power system operation, as confirmed by the recently conducted stability analysis by the Institute of Power Engineering, Gdańsk Division. We support further efforts towards the finalization of the Baltic States’ electricity systems synchronization with the EU continental synchronic area as soon as possible which should be duly prepared in order to avoid unexpected risks and guarantee the energy security of the region shielding from potential geopolitical risks or disruptions, as well as finally eliminating the dependence on the Russian power system, which currently supplies the Baltic States. We fully endorse the already accepted scenario where an undersea HVDC cable – Harmony Link – is a key element that makes synchronisation resilient and cross–border electricity exchange possible.
15. We affirm the importance of the Solidarity Lanes initiative in ensuring alternative trade routes for Ukraine via the EU. Lithuania and Poland will enhance the collaboration further in order to strengthen resilient connectivity with Ukraine, with a view to boost dual usage transportation capacity between the Baltic and Black Seas. We emphasize the necessity to increase EU financing for military mobility projects.
16. We will continue our joint endeavour within the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) to increase connectivity and economic co–operation in our region, strengthening the transatlantic bond, applying the 3SI as a platform for Ukraine’s recovery and facilitating infrastructural integration into the EU and the 3SI, with a view to the forthcoming 3SI Summit in Lithuania in 2024.
National Minorities, Education, Science, Culture, and European Memory
17. We encourage opportunities for partnerships in education, science, research, and in culture between our countries and people.
18. We emphasize that the Polish national minority in Lithuania and the Lithuanian national minority in Poland form integral parts of our societies and positively contribute to our social, cultural and economic landscape. We remain dedicated to protecting their rights bearing in mind our commitments in this area that result from the Polish–Lithuanian Treaty on Friendly Relations and Good Neighbourly Cooperation as well as our international obligations.
19. In particular, we are committed to maintaining and strengthening high–quality education for national minorities. We agree to strengthen our cooperation that results from the Declaration of Education of Polish National Minority in Lithuania and Lithuanian National Minority in Poland signed in 2019.
20. We agree to strengthen our efforts on the international level in condemning the consistent human rights infringements by authoritarian dictatorships, commemorate their victims and highlight the ongoing struggle against abusive regimes to European societies. We call relevant institutions to enhance education and research programmes, increase efforts in countering disinformation and attempts to rewrite history, dedicate relevant support for the examination and remembrance of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes, completing the Memorial for the Victims of Totalitarianism in Brussels and developing projects of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity.
21. We shall give prominence to the common history and cultural heritage of our countries in the European context. The 160th anniversary of the 1863–1864 (January) Uprising which was jointly commemorated by the Poles, Lithuanians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians, is a notable example of such cooperation. It will be continued with the commemoration of the 230th anniversary of Tadeusz Kościuszko’s uprising.
We reaffirm our commitment to the Presidential Council established in 2020 and appreciate its contribution to strengthening our bilateral relations.
Andrzej Duda
President Republic of Poland
Gitanas Nausėda
President Republic of Lithuania