India-Lithuania bilateral relationship very good, has only positive elements: Lithuanias Foreign Secy – The Tribune

New Delhi [India], March 20 (ANI): Lauding the bilateral ties between Lithuania and India, Lithuania’s Foreign Secretary Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa said that the ties between the two nations are “very good” and have only positive elements, giving a strong platform for future collaboration.

In an interview with ANI, he said that India and Lithuania have already identified certain areas which are producing practical results. He said that it has been 400 years since the first Lithuanian arrived in India and mentioned about commemorating it. He also spoke about the connection between Lithuanian Language and Sanskrit.

On India-Lithuania bilateral ties, he said, “The bilateral relationship that we have, we define as very good. It has only positive elements in it and it gives a strong platform for future collaboration. So, we have already identified certain areas which are producing very practical results. One of those is cultural people to people cooperation. Like this year, for example, we celebrate 400 years since first Lithuanian arrived in India. So we think it’s a good opportunity to this be commemorated at a larger scale and at a higher level. We planned some projects in Goa, where this Lithuanian arrived, so maybe some visits from Lithuania will follow.”

“Everyone knows in India, I guess, that Lithuanian language is connected to Sanskrit. So, this helps to identify Lithuania in Indian society, and we believe this is the element which was missing in the past because of 50 years of our occupation by the Soviet Union, we were erased from the map, we didn’t have our embassy and we missed this chance that our European countries had after the second world war. So, now it’s been more or less restored and we’re looking forward for Mr Jaishankar to also visit the Baltic states, our region in the near future to give another boost to those relation,” he added.

He called science and technology cooperation as one area, where the two nations have small stories popping up. He said, “Science and technological cooperation, we think that’s one area where we already have small success stories popping up. We want that cooperation to receive and get us like more permanent institutional structure. We’re discussing that possibility with our Indian counterparts. So, inshallah, you know, we will get those issues institutionalized.”

Highlighting the connection between the Lithuanian language and Sanskrit language, he said, “We really cherish that connection. Eight generations, at least eight generations of Lithuanians have grown on this idea and this is a real scientifically approved fact that Lithuanian and Sanskrit are very closely connected. So, a few years ago, we produced a small dictionary as a stepping stone to a larger understanding of each other. This small dictionary contains 108 words which are identical and identical means that more than Lithuanian language speaker and modern Hindi language speaker can understand them without a dictionary, an intervention, linguistic intervention. So, now with that basis already widely acknowledged, we are working on a larger dictionary which would have 1,008 words. So, the scholars are already up to that as a project approved. So we believe that in the year to come, we would be proud to present this new dictionary to the Indian public as well.”

He stated that Lithuania is looking positively at the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and termed it necessary considering the ongoing transformation in economic global economic structure.

On India-EU aiming to conclude FTA by end of this year, he said, “Well, Lithuania is positive, is looking positively about the conclusion of free trade agreement. We believe it is necessary, the economic global economic structure is undergoing certain transformation. The COVID was one reminder that the global supply chains should become shorter. And so everyone realizes that and now with the war on tariffs becoming more and more imminent, I believe that European companies will be looking for for new alternative markets as well as other countries subject to to increase tariffs might be eagerly interested in having new partners in Europe. So, with India what what we have is framework of cooperation, FTA as an additional element to that framework with ease commercial transactions.”

Earlier in February, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the delegations from India and the European Union held talks on a range of topics in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU President Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders have directed their teams to conclude the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations by this year.

Lithuania’s Foreign Secretary stated that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not a war between two European nations, but it is a conflict where one European nation invaded another European nation. He noted that it is not about choosing sides but about choosing matter of principle.

On the US-proposed ceasefire for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said, “Maybe one thing from the outset, you allow me, I believe that this premise as you described it, that there’s Ukraine-Russia conflict, this is flawed in principle. There is no, as we see it in Lithuania and by majority of European nations, this is not some conflict between two European countries. This is not a war of two European countries. It is one European country invading another European country. So, the question is not about choosing sides, whether are you with Russia or are you with Ukraine. It’s rather choosing matter of principle. Do you support this idea that another country can come and grab a piece of your territory, declare its own, write it in its constitution and say accept it? or you still believe that the norms of international law apply and international law is very explicit.”

“It’s UN Charter which says that we don’t conduct relations in that way. We conduct relations based on mutual respect on acceptance of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. So, if these principles are dear to us, we must defend them. So, that’s what Lithuania and other European countries have been doing since the beginning of Russia’s invasion and before when the annexation of Crimea started. We are most certain, and I personally am strong believer, but with India we’re on the same page here, maybe there are nuances and differences of how we speak about that and we wish that India’s voice would be stronger on principles and India’s voice would be heard across the global community. But as a matter of fact, we do cherish the same idea,” he added.

Notably, Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire,” which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by Russia.

Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa said that Russia needs to stop attacking Ukraine to stop the war. He emphasised that Ukraine’s economy needs support to survive and spoke on how EU nations were imposing sanctions on Russia. He stressed that Russia’s means and instruments of reproducing war machine is weakening due to the sanctions imposed by the EU.

He said, “Wen someone attacks you, means, you cannot resolve that issue through negotiation. You just have to defend yourself. So, the easiest way, everyone realizes that, for this war to stop is for Russia to stop attacking Ukraine, to send in missiles which destroy civilian infrastructure, to stop sending drones which make people hide during the night and then kids avoid going to school to protect themselves, to stop those coercion measures which drove already 8 million of Ukrainians out of their homeland and they cannot come back again.

“The entire Ukrainian economy needs so much of support to survive. So, that can end at one single instant when leaders of Russia stop this aggression. So in a way, how can we do that? So we have to put pressure on Russia and in the European Union, we have a very principled policy of sanctions. That’s our approach. We see it’s working. I mean, it’s weakening Russia’s means and instruments of reproducing its war machine and generating new tanks, new warheads. So as long as we continue on that track, that works. The problem is that some partners, some countries, they try to circumvent those sanctions for the pursuit of commercial benefit and these are activities which are which also need to be stopped. So we are working in that direction actively,” he added.

Since the war between Russia and Ukraine started in February 2022, European nations have been imposing sanctions against Moscow and offering support to Kyiv. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)