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Exclusive: Growing up under the Soviet lord, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Shakalienė did not allow the celebration of Christmas. Her mother was born in a Siberian camp.
Crime?
Her teenage brother was caught to distribute the leaflets who said, “Lithuania is free.” After 50 years of Soviet occupation during the Cold War, many Lithuanians today are cautious about any negotiation Russian President Vladimir Putin And they watch the next step of the Kremlin moves carefully.
“In my opinion, the only effective diplomacy with Russia was what Al Capone said that the only good negotiation is if you have a gun on the table. So, it is probably the diplomacy that will work with Russia,” Chocalyan warned during an interview at the Lithuanian Embassy on Friday.
Asked if Putin could trust, a 46-year-old defense minister who once lived in Albuquerke, New Mexico as a exchange student, replied: “Are you kidding me? After my family and Russia were done during the generations, I don’t think any Lithuanian who could trust Vladimir Putin.”
A full -scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine is now more than three years. Since returning to the office, President Donald Trump He participated in direct negotiations with Russia to end the war.
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The Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Skolyen sat in an interview with Fox News and discussed Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photos Reuters | Fox News)
“Historically, Russia has never maintained an agreement,” Shakalien said. – Our only hope is that President Donald Trump’s tough and cruel approach can be the only guarantee that Putin will. So hopefully it will happen. “
Placed in Eastern Europe, The Lithuanian population of 2.8 million in the area is approximately in size from West Virginia, a small country cannot afford to ignore Russia. It shares the border in 184 miles with Russia (Kaliningrad), as well as a 420-kilometer border from Belarus, which, she said, “now just a platform for the Russian army.”
She said, “They are trying to scare us. They try to make us feel uncertainly” about Russian forces nearby.
Lithuania increases the cost of defense as a result of the disposal of Russia, which launches a full -scale invasion of Ukraine and plans to exceed Trump’s requirement so that NATO allies spend 5% of GDP defense. Shakalien said her country hoped to reach 6% by next year. Currently, the US is spending 3.4%.
Last month, US Secretary of Defense Pete Heagset also called on NATO allies to increase defense costs. “The United States no longer tolerates an unbalanced relationship that encourages the dependence,” he warned NATO headquarters in Brussels on his first foreign trip.
As NATO Defense Minister, Shakalien was there in Brussels. She applauded the remarks of Gegseta, calling them a “ice bucket”.
Russian President Putin made a speech in Moscow. (Photo from participants/Getty Images)
“I saw the faces of my colleagues. A lot of shock, a lot of stress,” she said. “No one in the room mentioned 2% (GDP) that is so extra, insufficient. It was no longer. It’s old news.”
Asked why Western Europe lags behind the expenses for the years after Russia confiscated 20% Ukraine, Shakalien replied: “I think a large part of the democratic world has hit this illusion of an idealistic world that never existed.”
She said the part of the illusion believed that the wars were over. Russia never thought so, she explained.
“The undemocratic part of the world has not changed. They actually play according to their rules. Therefore, when they do not play by our rules, our blindness is what put us in this dangerous situation.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the BRICS summit in Kazana, Tatarstan Republic, Russia. (Depositors/Gethi Images)
Shakalien is the only NATO Defense Minister sanctioned by China. When asked about Beijing’s motives in support of Russia, her answer may surprise some people.
“Russia is able to increase its military production so effectively because China feeds it,” she said. “It’s useful for China To make this war for exhaustion, as well as it is useful for China, although it supplies Russia, seeing Russia also loses a lot of its soldiers – a lot of weapons and equipment – because the weaker Russia is more comfortable with China. “
Despite the great battlefield losses in Ukraine over the last three years, Russia is building an army According to Shakalienė, out of 1.5 million soldiers who warned that Putin had “more imperial plans in his hands.”
When Fox News sat down at the Lithuanian Embassy on Friday, Trump tried to secure an agreement on minerals with Ukraine and eventually hoped to get a ceasefire agreement with Russia.
“If Russia violates the ceasefire, the reaction should be immediate and rigid,” Chakalien urged.
Asked about her reaction to the report that Trump is considering not protecting NATO allies who do not spend on defense, Shakalienė applauded the harsh rhetoric of Trump, calling it “painful” but justified. “Everyone should contribute. Exchange load is the main rule if you really want to have a strong union.”
She pointed to the Baltic States and Poland as NATO leading members in the percentage of GDP.
Last year, The European Union, Which Lithuania is a member, spent more on Russian oil and gas than assistance in Ukraine. Shakalien said her country was “the first to cut off” Russian oil and gas. “We even supported our neighbors, Latvians and varnishes with energy supplies. Thus, for us, regardless of Russian energy, it is a matter of life and death.”
According to Frank Fanana, who was recognized as the first terminal of the JV, the “independence” was appointed, which occupied Trump’s first term as Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources.
When Fox News sat down at the embassy, Lithuania has just announced that it would refuse the convention on cluster ammunition, an international agreement of more than 100 countries banning cluster bombs. Shekalien explained why Lithuania pulls out.
“We want to be ready to use everything we need to protect our borders. We don’t want the Russians to come to our homes again. We want to send a strategic message, a very clear message that we will do everything to protect ourselves.”
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At the press conference at the press conference, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Lithuania Dovilė Skolyenė. (Jörg Carstensen/Picture Alliance through Getty Images)
Lithuania, along with other European peoples, also wants to withdraw from another treaty, which is soon known as the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the march.
“It is a terrible weapon, as well as the clusters’ ammunition, but the Russians use weapons, including forbidden weapons. So we want to send a message back,” she said.
Apart from Russia, China and US Also, they are not participants in the agreement. In 2014, the United States announced that they would comply with the Ottawa Convention, except for mines already deployed in the Korean Peninsula.
Shekalienė, a deeply pious Christian, said that Russia not only attacks Ukraine but also Christian faith.
“It was Soviet Russia who tried to destroy the church in Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland. Now they have revived their Christianity and use it for the KGB infiltration, for the FSB infiltration, she said.” She said. ” It’s a betrayal. “
She continued: “When we see Ukraine bombing, robbed … Christian community Ukraine is killed and their beautiful heritage is destroyed. “
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The Lithuanian Defense Minister ended the interview with the final warning.
“We strive to reduce our enemies. This is a mistake. You must see them as they are.”
