Valdas Adamkus, the Lithuanian president, on Thursday urged the west to respond to Russia’s heavy-handed tactics in the ongoing gas dispute by throwing open the door to Ukrainian membership in the European Union, Nato and the trans-Atlantic alliance.
In an interview with the FT, Mr Adamkus accused Moscow of playing politics in the gas trade to further ambitions of re-establishing itself as the region’s “superpower” and advised Brussels to react with strong political backing for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“Russia wants to send a signal to Ukrainians that they are not at liberty to decide their own political future, including the questions of joining the EU, the trans-Atlantic alliance or Nato … and show it can interfere in their internal affairs,” said the veteran Lithuanian leader. “The question is whether Ukraine is free to make its own political decisions … If the people of Ukraine want to become members of the EU, the EU should facilitate it and make this loud and clear.”
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