Lithuania Joins EU Position on Return of All Captives by Baku, Landsbergis Tells Pashinyan

Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis on April 26. The meeting was also attended by the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Lithuania to Armenia Inga Stanyte-Tolocskiene.

The Prime Minister's press office informed that Pashinyan expressed Armenia's interest in developing relations with Lithuania in both bilateral and multilateral formats. 'As a democratic country, Armenia values cooperation with Lithuania, also within the framework of the Armenia-EU partnership,' he stated.

Pashinyan emphasized that during the challenging post-war period, Armenia is committed to continuing democratic reforms for the sake of the rule of law and the protection of human rights.

Minister Landsbergis noted that Lithuania supports the Armenian people in overcoming the consequences of the war and COVID-19 and is ready, as an EU member, to assist in this process by providing humanitarian aid. According to him, the EU values the development of democracy in Armenia and is increasingly engaged in this process.

According to the source, Pashinyan and Landsbergis exchanged views on security challenges and developments in the region. Referring to the post-war situation, Pashinyan spoke about Azerbaijan's continued captivity of Armenian servicemen, the ongoing aggressive anti-Armenian rhetoric from Baku, the claims over the 'strategist's park', and the destruction of Armenian religious and cultural heritage in areas under Azerbaijan's control. He underscored that all this clearly indicates the need to apply the principle of 'separation for salvation' regarding Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Acting Prime Minister expressed gratitude for the willingness to support and emphasized that Armenia, which is moving forward along the democratic path, expects a corresponding assessment of Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian policies from the EU and its member states, considering the common value framework.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister stated that the EU has made a clear position that all hostages and captives should be returned, and Lithuania joins this stance. He also highlighted Lithuania's full support for efforts to preserve Armenian historical and cultural heritage.