Lithuanian President Discusses Illegal Migration, Defense Issues With Merkel

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his working visit to the country, where they discussed illegal migration, political and economic cooperation, regional security and defense, as well as energy and the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, according to a statement on the president's website

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his working visit to the country, where they discussed illegal migration, political and economic cooperation, regional security and defense, as well as energy and the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, according to a statement on the president's website.

"President Gitanas Nauseda continues his working visit to Germany. This morning, he met with Angela Merkel, the outgoing Chancellor of Germany. The meeting focused on political and economic cooperation between Lithuania and Germany, regional security and defense as well as illegal migration," the message said.

Nauseda also discussed with Merkel illegal migration on the border with Belarus, and the EU response to the "the hybrid attack by the Belarus regime." The president stressed that the current migration crisis called for changes in the EU policy on migration, asylum procedures and border protection. Nauseda also noted that Lithuania planned to raise the issue at the forthcoming European Council meeting in October and is counting on Germany's support.

"The President of Lithuania and the Chancellor of Germany also dedicated some time to discuss energy matters, paying particular attention to the issues of energy independence from third countries, the unsafe Ostrovets nuclear power plant (in Belarus), and the prevention of its electricity accessing the internal market of the EU," the message added.

Nauseda also pointed out that the annual growth in bilateral trade and investment indicates the potential for economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in engineering, the automotive industry, information, green and financial technologies, and biotechnology.

The resident stressed that he highly valued Germany as Lithuania's strategic partner in the European Union, a NATO ally and a like-minded member of international organizations. The head of the country thanked Merkel for Germany's contribution to Lithuania's security, and active participation in NATO's defense and deterrence policy.

"President Nauseda and Chancellor Merkel also discussed relations with Russia, Eastern Partnership policy, and support for Ukraine's Euro-integration aspirations," the message said.

Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have lately reported a growing number of migrants arriving from Belarus. Over 4,100 migrants have been caught on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border since the beginning of the year. This is 50 times more than the whole of 2020. Vilnius blames Minsk for the current migration crisis. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk could no longer restrain the flow of migrants to the EU due to Western sanctions.