The war in Ukraine has indeed brought about a paradigm shift in approaching security issues in Europe. The Baltic States not only knew and understood Russia's intentions, but also, with their active efforts, empowered the strong allied response to Russia’s aggression. This was underlined by Antoņina Ņenaševa, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, addressing the 42nd Session of the Baltic Assembly (BA) in Tallinn on Friday, 24 November.
The Deputy Speaker stressed that the Baltic States need to continue pursuing joint and active efforts in order to systematically eradicate doubts and war fatigue in society and to strengthen our collective resolve.
"We need to invest today, together or individually, in the development of the military industrial capacity of the Baltic States," said Ņenaševa, stressing that we also need to focus on working towards a political solution to bring Ukraine indisputably closer to NATO and ensure its eventual membership.
On the war in Ukraine, Deputy Speaker Ņenaševa noted that we need to jointly continue to actively explain the consequences of avoiding responsibility and seek new allies for ensuring Russia’s full accountability in the form of an international tribunal. "With our shared determination, we, the Baltic States, must continue to demonstrate loud and clear that we will not tire and we will support Ukraine until its complete victory," said the Deputy Speaker of the Saeima.
Highlighting the economic aspect, Ņenaševa stressed that closer cooperation in this area is not even an option, but rather a necessity. The Baltic States should be able to use the new conditions together to boost entrepreneurship and competitiveness in various sectors, especially in energy and infrastructure, said Ņenaševa, citing the example of the Rail Baltica project, overseen, among others, by the BA.
Referring to Baltic States’ cooperation in strengthening their identity over the past few decades, the Deputy Speaker emphasised the option of teaching the languages spoken in the Baltic States in schools: "Such an initiative would undoubtedly strengthen the use and importance of the languages of the Baltic States, but, additionally, it would be another very important and strong link between our countries and peoples, which would have a positive impact on all areas of our cooperation, including economic cooperation," stressed Ņenaševa.
Baltic parliamentarians are currently in Tallinn to discuss the regional economic impact of Russia's invasion in Ukraine and coordinated civil protection. The Saeima is represented at the BA session in Tallinn by Jānis Vucāns, Head of the Latvian delegation and Vice President of the Baltic Assembly; Jānis Reirs, Deputy Head of the delegation, as well as members of the delegation Andris Kulbergs, Līga Kļaviņa, Kristaps Krištopans, Ervins Labanovskis, Antoņina Ņenaševa, Ramona Petraviča, Viktorija Pleškāne, and Uģis Rotbergs.
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Saeima Press Service