Andrius Kubilius: Combating Strategy with the Russian Federation should include a formation of the belt of successful countries around it

13 April 2018, 16:08

An effective strategy to combat the aggressive policies of Putin's Russia, in addition to strengthening military capabilities, should be the formation of a belt of successful countries around Russia that would made ordinary Russians to think. Such an initiative as the "Marshal Plan for Ukraine" has emerged with this purpose.

This was stated by the Member of Seimas of Lithuania, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania (1999-2000; 2008-2012) Andrius Kubilius during the 11th Kyiv Security Forum in Kyiv.

"I have the opportunity to present our Lithuanian initiative of "The Marshal Plan for Ukraine."

"Why did we develop the idea of the so-called "Marshal Plan for Ukraine" last year? Because the question was raised: what is Putin's strategy for Ukraine? If I were Putin (oh what horror I am talking about) then my goal would be not to allow Ukraine to succeed," he said.

That is why European solidarity should be focused on not letting Putin to achieve his goal. "Ukraine's success is important for a broader strategy that the world needs to do with Putin's strategy. And the only effective strategy, besides military capabilities, is the strategy of the belt of successful countries around Russia, so that it affects the opinion of ordinary Russians," A.Kubilius said.

According to him, Putin is afraid of this and will not give Ukraine an opportunity to become successful.

The Lithuanian politician pointed out that Lithuania had gained European solidarity in the 1990s, when it was given the prospect of EU membership. Now this option is unavailable for Ukraine, it needs another stimulus, and therefore the initiative "The Marshall Plan for Ukraine" was launched," he added.

A.Kubilius noted that "The Marshall Plan for Ukraine" provides 5 billion euros as a package of annual investments in Ukraine. "After a year, since the initiative was founded, we see significant progress. We can say that the Marshall Plan is already undergoing a preliminary stage of implementation," he said, adding that in this regard a conference will be held in Copenhagen in June this year.

Along with this, the Lithuanian politician has indicated that whether Ukraine can "absorb" everything that would be given to it. In particular, some institutional changes and the creation of some departments and agencies may be required.

For reference:

The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.

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Andrius Kubilius: Combating Strategy with the Russian Federation should include a formation of the belt of successful countries around it

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