On January 29, Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, the Republic of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis and the Republic of Poland Zbigniew Rau held an online meeting of the Lublin Triangle, a regional format of cooperation between their three Central European states: Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland.

The Ministers exchanged views on a wide range of issues, important for the region, and outlined areas for further tripartite cooperation within the Lublin Triangle.

“The Triangle was born in Lublin and matured in Kyiv. Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania have all the opportunities to turn the Lublin Triangle into an important player in our Central European region,” said Dmytro Kuleba.

The three Ministers discussed the current COVID-19 situation in the Lublin Triangle countries, the vaccination of the population, as well as possible ways of cooperation in this area. Dmytro Kuleba thanked for the initiative of certain EU states, in particular Lithuania and Poland, to call on the European institutions to establish a mechanism of vaccine transfer to the Eastern Partnership countries.

The Ukrainian Minister expressed his gratitude to Poland and Lithuania for their unwavering support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and their strong condemnation of Russia's aggression against our state. Poland and Lithuania reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine's EU and NATO membership aspirations.

Dmytro Kuleba informed of Ukraine's efforts to de-occupy the Crimean peninsula and prepare for the inauguration of the Crimean Platform. The Foreign Ministers of Lithuania and Poland welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed their states’ readiness to take part in its Inaugural Summit in August 2021 in Kyiv.

An important topic of discussion was the coordination of the Lublin Triangle efforts in Central Europe in the context of the new US administration policies. The parties agreed that a deeper involvement of the United States in the cooperation with the region would play a key role in strengthening transatlantic ties, protecting sustainable development, freedom and democracy in Europe.

The Ministers paid special attention to the subject of counteracting Russia’s aggressive policies, in particular, their hybrid dimension and misinformation. Dmytro Kuleba suggested launching a format of regular joint reports of the Lublin Triangle on current hybrid threats emanating from Russia. According to him, these reports should be made involving experts from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, NGO’s and think-tanks of the three countries. The Ministers instructed the Lublin Triangle National Coordinators (Deputy Ministers) to draft proposals on that issue.

A separate topic of discussion was the political crisis in Belarus and the prospects for its solution. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian opposition, was invited to join that segment of the discussion. She informed of the current situation in her country. The three Ministers reaffirmed their solidarity with the Belarusian people and expressed interest in future cooperation of the Lublin Triangle with democratic Belarus.

Dmytro Kuleba described Ukraine's main expectations of the Sixth Eastern Partnership Summit. The parties reaffirmed their readiness to cooperate in all formats, areas and segments of the initiative.

The Ministers identified coordination and close cooperation at the level of diplomatic missions within international organizations, such as the UN, OSCE, or CoE, on issues important to the Central European region as one of the main areas of further cooperation within the Lublin Triangle.

The Foreign Ministers instructed the National Coordinators to draft a roadmap of key initiatives and activities of the Lublin Triangle for 2021.

Dmytro Kuleba proposed holding a Summit of the Heads of State of the Lublin Triangle in Kyiv in the second half of 2021.

Dmytro Kuleba, Zbigniew Rau and Gabrielius Landsbergis upheld the idea of creating a civil youth platform of the Lublin Triangle with the participation of NGO’s from Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.

The Foreign Ministers stressed the importance of studying and spreading knowledge about the three countries’ common historical past, which unites them and forms the basis of the national identity of the Ukrainians, Lithuanians and Poles. Dmytro Kuleba also suggested dedicating attention to the study of the Crimean Tatar culture, as an important component of the cultural heritage of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.

At the conclusion, the Ministers approved the Lublin Triangle logo in order to give the initiative a more prominent global identity.