Foundations of a new Europe are being laid in Ukraine – Lithuanian president in Paris

VILNIUS – The foundations of a new, stronger Europe are being laid in Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said at a conference hosted by the French weekly L'Express in Paris on Monday.

The president addressed an audience of 700 French leaders from politics, business, academia, culture and media as the winner of the magazine's European Award (Prix de l'Europe), his office said in a press release. 

Nauseda quoted Lithuanian semiotician Algirdas Julius Greimas, who once called Paris "a capital of Art, Fashion, Freedom, and Barricades".

"To this day, Kyiv is the city of freedom and barricades, and it will remain so until the day of the final victory," the president said.

"In this struggle, we see the seeds of Europe's dramatic transformation being planted. And it is our actions primarily that will determine the final shape of the new European order," he said. 

According to Nauseda, lasting peace and security across the entire Euro-Atlantic area can only be achieved through the full restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"Our first and most important step towards ultimate victory is shedding our own fear. Russia is only as strong as we think it is. Our fear of escalation always works as an invitation for Putin. An invitation to attack. To kill. To escalate," he said.

Nauseda noted that Europe's peace, security, and prosperity will largely depend on building a successful community of partners and like-minded nations on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the press release.

"This effort includes the need to accelerate the enlargement of the European Union by admitting Ukraine and Moldova as soon as possible."

The president also called for greater European investment in its own security, targeting at least 3 percent of GDP, cooperation with the United States in developing the defense industry, and strengthening Europe's democratic resilience.