On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg officially announced the date of the NATO summit in Vilnius. It will take place on 11 and 12 July 2023.
“We are very proud to host a NATO summit in Vilnius; hopefully, it will be a celebration of victory. For this to happen, we call on our partners not only to continue but also to increase their support for Ukraine,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister noted that the choice of Vilnius for the NATO summit highlighted the security of NATO’s eastern flank and sent a strong signal that ensuring the Baltic region’s security was of importance for the entire NATO.
“At the same time, it is a recognition and evaluation of Lithuania as a reliable ally which implements agreed commitments. Leaders from all NATO countries will gather in the capital of Lithuania and will take decisions related to strengthening the security of all of us and our allies,” G. Landsbergis said.
In addition, Stoltenberg thanked Lithuania for its readiness to host this greatly important meeting. The NATO summit will be held for the first time in Lithuania. It will bring together high-level delegations from NATO allies and partners, as well as a large number of international media representatives.
The NATO summit in Vilnius will focus on strengthening the Alliance’s collective defence and deterrence and on increasing support for Ukraine. To ensure that NATO remains the strongest defensive Alliance, allies will discuss defence investment priorities and needs. It is expected that Finland and Sweden will participate in the summit as full-fledged members of the Alliance for the first time in Vilnius.
