VILNIUS, Jun 22, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has on Monday presented letters of credence via conference call to Valdemaras Sarapinas, the country's new ambassador to Ukraine.

The president and the newly appointed ambassador discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, political and practical support to Ukraine, its European integration, assistance in implementing the EU-Ukraine association agreement, as well as Eastern Partnership and energy cooperation issues.

"Ukraine’s solidarity and support for not importing electricity from the Ostrovets nuclear power plant is critically important," the presidential office said.

Special focus was placed on support to Ukraine in the context of Russia’s aggression and Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Among the other topics was partnership between Ukraine and NATO and new avenues opened by its newly recognized status as NATO's enhanced opportunities partner. The President underlined that it was very important to keep to a consistent approach to maintaining sanctions against Russia until the Minsk agreements were fully implemented and Ukraine’s territorial integrity was restored.

The expansion of Lithuanian business in Ukraine was addressed, especially in the fields of renewable energy, information and financial technologies, and tourism.

The President and the Ambassador also discussed the strengthening of links with the Lithuanian community in Ukraine and the development of joint projects on the historical memory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Valdemaras Sarapinas was Lithuania’s Consul General in New York. Earlier, he had worked as Secretary and Vice Minister at the Ministry of National Defense as well as Chancellor of the Government. Since 2016, he had served as Lithuanian ambassador to Finland.

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