Leaders of the Baltic States without an invitation to the summit in London. “Great dissatisfaction”

Starmer's conversation with the president Lithuania Gitanas nauseda, prime minister Latvia Evika Silina and the president of Estonia Alarem Karis, took place a few hours before the summit in London dedicated to Ukraine.

Read also: Five conclusions after the summit

“Nauseda expressed great dissatisfaction due to the lack of invitation to London,” said Asta Skisgiryte, an adviser to the President of Lithuania, in an interview with LRT public broadcaster. She noted that “Prime Minister Starmer began a conversation with an apology, promising that such a situation would not happen again.”

In a statement of the office of the President of Lithuania, issued after a conversation with the British prime minister, Nauseda emphasized that “the threats resulting from the actions of the aggressor (Russia) on the NATO eastern flank require the alliance of demonstrating unity, collective defense credibility and effectiveness of the principle of deterrent.”

The statement emphasized that during the conversation leaders discussed issues of transatlantic cooperation within NATO and the need to increase the “European contribution to the architecture of the Alliance.”

The Lithuanian president pointed out that European countries must increase defense expenses, indicating that the new budget goal should be 5 percent of GDP. He also reminded of the recent decision of the Lithuanian National Defense Council, according to which the country plans to spend from 5 percent to 6 percent of GDP in the coming years.

– The goal of all of Europe is cooperation to increase investments in the European defense industry, as well as an urgent increase in support for Ukraine and ensuring uninterrupted deliveries – emphasized Nauseda.

The President of Lithuania also pointed to the need to use Russia's frozen assets to support Ukraine and further strengthen economic pressure and sanctions against the Kremlin. He also reminded about the importance of the Tribunal for war crimes of Russia in Ukraine.

During the conversation, the issue of possible security guarantees for Ukraine was also raised, including the potential distribution of European peace forces on its territory.

Read also: Tusk after talks in London

In a special meeting organized in London on Sunday by the Prime Minister of Great Britain Keira Starmer, among others Polish Prime Minister Donald Tuskthe President of France Emmanuel MacronGerman Chancellor Olaf ScholzItalian premiere of Giorgia Meloni and the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau. The heads of government and heads of the Spanish, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Romania were also present, and Turkey is represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The meeting was also attended by the chairwoman of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Council Antonio Costa, Secretary of NATO Mark Rutte and the President of Ukraine Wołodymyr Zelanski.

Zielnski met with Starmer on Saturday evening in London, where he arrived after a quarrel with Donald Trump visiting Washington. Also on Saturday Great Britain She signed a loan agreement with Ukraine in the amount of 2.26 billion pounds to support Ukrainian defense capabilities. The loan is to be repaid from revenues from frozen Russian assets.