Nerijus Aleksiejūnas, Lithuania’s Ambassador to the EU, has said that his country opposes proposals to resume dialogue between the EU and Russia. According to Mr Aleksiejunas, at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU had agreed on conditions under which contacts with Moscow could be resumed, but stressed that those conditions were “far from being fulfilled”.

“There are conditions […] that we’ve agreed on – when we can resume contacts. So far, we haven’t seen any evidence that anything has changed on Russia’s part,” the ambassador said on Ziniu Radijas radio.

“This is a commitment that we agreed to unanimously, so we must unanimously decide that we are changing something in this policy,” he said.

He added that the EU still had the opportunity to be involved in peace negotiations in Ukraine, noting that while the union might not be at the centre of the negotiating table, it remained closely involved in the process and was being kept informed.

The comments by Lithuania’s Ambassador to the EU come just days after Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, made a statement that the EU should resume high-level dialogue with Russia. She stated that a special envoy could be appointed to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

“I think the time has come for Europe to talk to Russia,” the far-right leader told a New Year’s press conference. “Because if Europe decides to participate in this phase of the ongoing negotiations, talking with only one of the parties involved […] the positive contribution it can make is limited.”

Ms Meloni also said she agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in December that it would be “useful” for Europe to resume dialogue with the Russian leader regarding the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said that he does not oppose direct negotiations between European states and Russia.

According to Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, an EU spokeswoman, speaking on behalf of the coordinated position of all EU countries, stated on Monday (January 12) that the conditions for a conversation with Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine, in which the EU would participate, are not yet in place.

Lithuania, one of the three Baltic states alongside Latvia and Estonia, has often been named as one of Putin’s next targets for invasion. Despite the peaceful, picturesque impression of Vilnius, the capital and the wider Baltic region have been on high alert since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In April last year, Vilnius published a massive evacuation plan for its over 500,000 residents, outlining 150 different routes to safety. Schools have begun teaching survival skills, including first aid and basic weapons handling.

The Suwałki Gap, the 40-mile strip of land along the Polish-Lithuanian border, is considered NATO’s “Achilles heel”. If Russia seized it, the Baltic states would be geographically cut off from their NATO allies in Europe, wedged between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow-allied Belarus. Vilnius, meanwhile, is located only about 19 miles from the Belarusian border, making it highly vulnerable to a swift ground assault.

As a result, Lithuania plans to increase its defence budget to 5.5% of GDP by 2026. A joint project with Latvia and Estonia also involves the construction of a Baltic Line of Defence – involving 600 bunkers, concrete barriers and supply lines.