The three tiny Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, have long and painful histories with the Russian bear, and do not wish to live under Russian domination again, which is why the events in Ukraine are having such an impact there. In this news account from Latvia’s Diena newspaper, Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite issues a call to arms for Europe and people in the Baltics, warning that leaders in Western Europe still don’t understand what they are facing in the Kremlin. Her advice to Lithuanians?: Do not fear – and in the event of an invasion, be prepared to ‘resist and shoot.’
The Diena report on the comments of Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite starts out this way:
In a March 10 interview with Lithuanian television, President Dalia Grybauskaite said that Lithuania’s allies are ready to react to potential Russian threats – not only with six additional pursuit aircraft [U.S. F-16 Fighters] sent to Zokniai Air Base, but with ships in the Baltic Sea as an additional safeguard. At the same time she stressed that it is important for Lithuanians not to be afraid.
According to her, Russia has begun to show Europe and the world its true nature. She also said week’s European summit shows that some European leaders have yet to fully realize the situation in which Russia and Europe now find themselves.
“Some say that for now, the pressure on Russia should not be too strong – to give Moscow a chance to ‘save face’ and allow for a ‘fall-back strategy.’ I said very clearly that it is the European Union, and not Russia, at risk of losing face, because Russia hasn’t even begun to consider the subject. For quite some time now Russian ‘face’ hasn’t been an issue – it’s only Putin’s face,” the president said in the interview aired on the eve of Lithuanian Independence Restoration Day. “Europe is still not fully aware of what’s going on, and doesn’t yet understand that the time has come for Europe to decide to save its own face.
“We are historically fortunate that we joined NATO and the European Union ten years ago. … But now we’re talking about Europe itself and, apparently, not only about Europe, because we see … that one state is trampling on whatever international obligations it pleases – both treaties that it signed and the U.N. Charter. In fact, any global agreement reached after the Second World War for ensuring peace,” she stressed.
According to Grybauskaite, the events in Ukraine, particularly in Crimea, show that we are dealing with “a different kind of civilization or attitude toward civilization.”
“In this situation, everyone will suffer – I mean not only Ukraine. Europe, the United States, everyone, because it’s obvious that we will have to resort to certain sanctions. Not only diplomatic and political, but perhaps even economic,” she said. “I hope very much that this Cold War that Russia is again trying to impose on the international community doesn’t reach the hottest and most damaging point. However, we must be prepared for all preventive and security measures.”
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