Europe’s de-escalation tactics is no longer effective and it needs a new strategy to support Ukraine, says Lithuania’s outgoing Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
“My belief is that we have come to the point where it is fair to say that the strategy of the way that we help Ukraine during the three-year period, almost a thousand days, has failed,” he told reporters in Brussels on Monday. “Peace through de-escalation is a failing and is a failed strategy. We need a new one.”
However, the Lithuanian foreign minister does not believe that the strategy should be based on diplomacy.
“We need a strategy that would come from strength. [...] And when I’m talking strength, I’m talking weapons, I’m talking about the real removal of all restrictions,” Landsbergis said.
US media reported on Sunday, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden had for the first time allowed Ukraine to use American-supplied missiles for limited strikes inside Russia.
The decision is a major shift in US policy and comes as Biden prepares to leave the White House. For his part, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources say that Biden move comes in response to North Korea’s decision to send troops to assist Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long asked Washington for permission to use the powerful ATACMS missile system to strike targets in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that America’s decision would mean that NATO is at war with Russia.
Landsbergis welcomed the US decision but said he was in no hurry to celebrate.
“Why I’m not opening the champagne just yet is probably because we don’t know the actual numbers of how many rockets Ukrainians do have,” he said. “So the question is whether they have enough rockets to make a difference on the battlefield.”
Landsbergis also criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his recent phone call with Putin.
“I’m not in principle against any calling or reaching out but it has to come from a position of strength, not from the position of weakness. Because if it does, the Russians will abuse it and they’re clearly are doing exactly that,” Landsbergis said, referring to Russia’s recent massive air strike over the weekend.
Kyiv was angered by the fact that the German chancellor initiated the call with Putin on Friday despite Ukraine’s objections. This was the first phone conversation between the Russian leader and a major Western leader in almost two years.
On Sunday, after Russia launched a massive air strike across Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called it Russia’s “real response” to Western leaders who were seeking to establish contact with Putin.
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