The security landscape of the Baltic states and eastern Europe may be changed permanently if Russian troops amassed on the Ukraine border start to integrate with Belarusian troops, Lithuania’s prime minister has said.
“This is a 1938 moment for our generation,” Ingrida Šimonytė said in an interview. “Neutrality helps the oppressor and never the victim.”
Šimonytė, who is due to meet Boris Johnson on Tuesday, is one of the European politicians most willing to make a case for democracy and expose the methods of autocracies.
Her stance has led her country of only 2.8 million people on to the frontline of ideological conflict not only with Russia but also China.
Belarus is threatening to block potash exports to her country, and China punished Lithuania for the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius by cutting trade and pressing companies to pull out of Lithuania. The UK has joined Lithuania to take China to the WTO over its behaviour.
Šimonytė said the twin threats from the superpowers showed it was necessary for the west not to be mired by self-doubt, internal divisions and self-satisfaction. “The first response is not to be afraid but to speak up,” she said. “We never see the masses on the streets demanding more autocracy.” » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Tuesday, February 8, 2022
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