President of Lithuania: Russia is trying to cast doubt on the identity of the Baltic states

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera that Russia is trying to cast doubt on the identity of the Baltic republics; similarly to Ukraine before. In his opinion, Vladimir Putin wants to punish the countries most active in supporting Ukraine.

In an interview with an Italian newspaper published on Thursday, Nauseda said: “Russia is trying to create doubts about the identity of our countries; just like Ukraine before. They are questioning our independence, the fact that we have a long history, they are trying to make us believe that only Russia is the basis of our history.”

“This is obviously false, and we must fight not only hybrid or missile attacks, but also false historical narrative,” said the Lithuanian president.

As he added, “imperialist appetite is the same as half a century ago.”

“During the Cold War, NATO was an effective deterrent. Now we are in a transformation phase after a long period of underinvestment in our defense systems. Recent events in Germany and Denmark show that Russia wants to challenge all of us,” said Gitanas Nauseda, referring to the presence of drones over these countries.

According to the Lithuanian leader, Putin wants to challenge the democratic world because his dream is to destroy democracy.

Putin wants, the president added, “to punish the most active countries in supporting Ukraine.”

“But there is also a second goal: to spread panic among the citizens of these countries. This is what hybrid activity serves. By appealing to the fear and dissatisfaction of citizens, in the long run they will try to influence the elections; they want anti-European and pro-Russian parties to grow; those that are not ready to support Ukraine because they claim it is not their business,” said President Nauseda.

In his opinion, the authorities in the Kremlin know that they cannot win in Ukraine, because after months of huge losses, they have not gained even 1 percent. Ukrainian territory. In Nauseda's opinion, Russia's plan is to try to freeze the conflict for as long as possible. (PAP)

sw/ mal/