Presidents of Lithuania, Cyprus discuss EU enlargement, in particular accession of Ukraine, Moldova
During a meeting in Vilnius, President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda discussed the issue of Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the European Union, and spoke in favor of accelerating this process.
According to a report on the website of the President of Cyprus, during his visit to Lithuania, negotiations were held in Vilnius in a "tête-à-tête" format, after which the presidents made statements to the press.
“We discussed Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2026, which is important for us in planning our own presidency one year after. Your leadership will be essential for advancing the EU enlargement process, especially with Ukraine and Moldova. We expect substantial progress in negotiations across all the clusters in 2026,” Nauseda said.
He noted that EU membership is the most important security guarantee that the Union can provide to Ukraine.
“Despite Russia’s ongoing war of aggression, Ukraine is impressively delivering on its EU integration commitments and reforms. Ukraine’s membership in the EU is also crucial for the security of Europe itself. Therefore, we must accelerate this process – setting a target date for membership no later than 1st January 2030 – would mobilise preparatory processes both in Ukraine and within the EU,” the Lithuanian president stressed.
For his part, President Christodoulides said that Lithuania and Cyprus share common challenges, common values, common beliefs and a deep-rooted commitment to an international order based on international law.
“With President Nauseda today, we held an extensive exchange on key regional issues… And, of course, we also discussed extensively the continuing Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is a war against our values and our interests. We will never accept the violation of the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of any state. I assure you, Mr President, that support to Ukraine will be a high priority of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, which starts in January 2026,” the president of Cyprus said.
According to him, the presidents also discussed other European priorities, in view of the Cyprus presidency, as well as the Lithuanian presidency in the first half of 2027.