The heads of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine called for tougher sanctions against Russia

Vilnius, Warsaw and Kiev are calling on the international community to tighten sanctions against Moscow, Presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine Gitanas Nauseda, Andrzej Duda and Volodymyr Zelensky said in a joint statement.

In the document, the leaders of the three countries announced "continued aggression against Ukraine" by Russia. They also appealed to the Russian side with a call for de-escalation through the "withdrawal of their troops from the Ukrainian borders and temporarily occupied territories."

Nauseda, Duda and Zelensky reiterated their concern about the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and called the project a threat to European security, to the security of the European region. The presidents agreed to resist "the monopolization of the European gas market by Russia, which uses energy as a geopolitical tool."

On December 2, the Presidents held a meeting via video link in the Lublin Triangle format, according to the website of the head of Poland. The foreign ministers of the three countries signed a declaration on its establishment in July 2020. In it, the parties expressed their commitment to deepen and expand cooperation between the armed forces and in the fight against coronavirus, as well as support Ukraine's accession to NATO and the EU.