Valdas Adamkus

"We have much hard work ahead of us. We should not shy away from difficulties but draw confidence from our shared past and the challenges we have already overcome by our common resolve."

"Working together, in harmony and with a shared sense of responsibility, we can come considerably closer to achieving the vision of a ‘Europe whole and free’ that brought us together in the first place."

"I have to admit that many nations, big and small, today have many more concerns than a decade ago. Today we feel less secure. The very structure of the international system seems to be fracturing, depriving us from the protection provided by international law and international institutions."

"The United Nations cannot be a mere passive observer if and when universal values and international law are under threat. Still, too often we remain observers in the face of mounting security crises."

"When seventeen years ago, after the Soviet occupation, my country regained independence and joined the UN, we were told that ‘Never again will Molotovs and Ribbentrops dare to decide the future of other nations.’ Next year we will mark the 70th anniversary of the shameful Molotov-Ribbentrop secret protocols, but Lithuania and other nations of the former Soviet Union still have to fight against the revisionism seeping down from the Kremlin towers, blatant claims there was no occupation of the Baltic States and that there was no Holodomor in Ukraine where millions of people were simply starved to death by a ruthless dictator."

"If we are to reform the United Nations in a meaningful way, perhaps we should have a better look at the experience of the European nations after the end of World War II and after the end of the Cold War. Based on this experience, it is obvious that we need to strengthen democracy at home in order to have good governance and a responsible leadership. Perhaps, responsible leadership will not protect us from all global challenges, but it will at least seek cooperation with its people and other nations to resolve the persisting problems."

"Security, based on cooperation, should remain the basic principle of different European organizations and of international relations on the whole."

"It does not matter if the world is unipolar, bipolar or multipolar, human life and human rights remain at the heart of our world. Only such a world can create a truly viable architecture among the states – an architecture based on trust, openness and respect for human rights. But did we see efforts to create such an architecture in the Georgia-Russia conflict? What we saw instead were renewed attempts to divide the world into zones of influence or privileged interests. And this should be unacceptable for the international community of the 21st century. Division and exclusion are bad remedies for conflict resolution. Therefore, conflict resolutions in South Ossetia, Abkhazia or elsewhere should be the responsibility of the international community and international institutions, not of one participating side, which hardly remains impartial"

"We also have to keep the commitments to value-based policies. It is through our commitment to change and reform that Lithuania has come to where it is today: a consolidated democracy, a strong reformed economy and an active contributor to international peacekeeping missions from the Balkans to Afghanistan. And I believe that we, the peoples of the United Nations, have to re-new our commitment to the universal values and principles so that we march together and in the same direction and our steps become stronger."

"It is because the United Nations primarily consists not of the sum total of the votes, but of universal principles, and these principles shall be the guiding light to us for the years to come."

"Ninety years ago, Lithuania crossed a major threshold on the path of history. On February 16, 1918, the descendants of a partitioned nation gathered in the Council of Lithuania and proclaimed to the world that the Lithuanian people, having survived long years of oppression and occupation, were committing themselves to their inherent right to rebuild the State of Lithuania. Even today, the Declaration of February 16 – born of our native language, history, remembrance and cultural heritage – remains a unique historical event inspiring our hearts to build up Lithuania."

"The Europe of those times, ravaged by wars, threats and mistrust, did not act warmly and enthusiastically towards small nations, particularly the newly emerged states. Then again, many had doubts about the Declaration: Will it not be looked upon in Lithuania as an expression of the political of only a few intellectuals? Will Lithuanians stand together in statehood after 120 years of subjugation and national humiliation under Tsarist Russia? Such doubts were quickly dispelled by the Nation who immediately stepped forward and found faith in the historic vision delivered by the signatories. With their immediate roots in rural Lithuania and a strong wish to pursue a modern urban lifestyle, people across Lithuania readily accepted the Declaration of Independence, defended it in blood and converted it into actuality."

"A strong message of political will was sent to the world testifying that the Lithuanian nation had never forsaken its historical memory and traditions of statehood. But most importantly, it spoke of the spirit of freedom which was preserved, nurtured and handed down from one generation to another in small and impoverished villages where smuggled-in Lithuanian books were eagerly read by the flickering light of oil lamps. The signatories of the Declaration of Independence knew that. They knew that there was a strong spiritual bond between the word of freedom and the feeling of liberty harbored in the souls of the Nation."

"After World War II, Lithuanian partisans testified through their tragic fate that the Stalinist Soviet Union did not destroy the dignity and idealism of Lithuania. At the close of the century, thousand-strong crowds of freedom seekers answered the call of the Sąjūdis movement to stand up for freedom."

"Lithuania learned from its difficult lessons of history to resist, quite successfully, denationalization, russification and the denial of national identity and cultural awareness. It was more difficult to resist Sovietization. It left our society deformed for a long time, distorting the understanding of many values and ideals. Lithuanian politicians, however, have always derived their creative power from national culture and its traditions."

"It was more difficult to resist Sovietization. It left our society deformed for a long time, distorting the understanding of many values and ideals. Lithuanian politicians, however, have always derived their creative power from national culture and its traditions."

"This anniversary makes us think about the values pursued by the present generation of politicians. Did we forget that the driving force behind our awareness of national identity and statehood is nurtured in the hearts and minds of the people and surely not in the corridors of power? By devaluating and ignoring ordinary people and their problems, the government is undermining the foundations of trust in the State."

"Today we are walking down a path where we feel more secure from external threats than ever before in the course of our history. It is globalization and the rapidly changing world that create crucial challenges. The Lithuania of the 20th century discovered, created and established itself in a different international environment, affecting us all directly through its tragedies and intrigues."

"Lithuania must prepare to live in the world of the future where we will establish ourselves through innovation, creation and higher ideals. The vision of Lithuania should not be associated with our presence in the battlefields of either the East or the West, but rather with the building of a state in which we can learn and develop."

"Let us be worthy of our long and great history and let us purify our aspirations from anger, hatred and short-lived interests. Let us be worthy of our state and nation: let us be the architects of a new Lithuania."

"I must confess that many things held more promise in the past. Moreover, our hopes were well-founded. The world seemed to be a more peaceful and stable place, and people seemed to generally have a better understanding of the conditions for their survival. This was the time of active European integration, with Lithuania being in the right place at the right time in the process. From a candidate country it marched all the way towards EU membership, smoothly taking on the role of a regional leader at a later stage."

"Today, all is different. Unfortunately, the situation is diametrically different: Europe is trying to forge itself anew and resist fragmentation. Russia pursues the “divide and rule” policy in Western Europe, organises cyber-attacks worldwide and openly annexes the territories of its southern neighbours. Russia also supports authoritarian regimes and provokes conflicts in the Middle East. Most disgracefully and sadly, within mere several years, the relations between Lithuania and Poland have fallen from mutual trust and respect to the level of accusations, complaints, mistrust and escalation of old grievances. Moscow may use it as yet another gift."

"What next? What is ahead of us if we fail to act, communicate and discuss problems? What happens if we continue living in the illusion that all is well? The world today is a small, integral and, therefore, very vulnerable place. A purely local issue, wherever it happens to take place – be it in Syria, North Korea, or our European neighbourhood – can ignite a full-scale global conflict."

"Therefore, we need the ability to engage with each other, and a strategic and value-based approach to our future. I believe that our meeting today marks the beginning of a strategic dialogue. I am therefore grateful to all those who responded to the invitation to meet and discuss the future vision; a vision of renewed and extended success for decades to come; a vision that unites leaders and opens the door to new generations of free Europeans in the region."

"Decades of hesitant negotiations with the North Korean regime have produced a negative result: apart from developing nuclear weapons, the country has also developed ballistic missile systems, Concurrently, Russia and China are manipulating the situation to reach their own aims."

"A lack of determination in Syria has caused the problem of massive migration to Europe, at the same time opening the door for direct Russian intervention and downgrading of the US and the EU."

"Russia invaded the sovereign states of Georgia and Ukraine in the 21st century. Both the US and EU failed to take every possible step to protect the countries from occupation and annexation of some of their territories. Notably, the battle on that front is not over yet. And, provided there are no new Munich plots and the transatlantic community adheres to a principled and strong position, Russia will be obliged to withdraw."

"We should be deeply concerned about the destiny of Europe which is fighting for its freedom and leadership, or, to be more precise, for what is left of it. I am surprised to see some EU leaders take over Putin’s rhetoric and even defend his interests, while failing to protect the European aims and unity."

"All I can say about Lithuania, by contrast, is that, more than ever, it demonstrates a failure to agree with its natural strategic partners and neighbours. We are no longer creating alliances of common interest; we are increasingly lonely with our inferiority complex. Instead of putting an emphasis on cooperation, we promote the illusionary national policy of resistance to various dictatorships. We engage in allegation and accusation policy, instead of pursuing the policy of coordination of interests."

"It is high time we made the necessary decisions. It is high time we embarked on the era of leadership of European values. Instead of distancing itself from decision-making, Lithuania should actively participate in decision-making that has a crucial effect on our transatlantic family, the region, and Europe at large."

"What I would like most is to turn ideas into deeds so that an increasing number of politicians in this region, in Europe and in the US take real responsibility and finalise the decisions that have to be taken without delay to make our world safer. In the language of metaphors, as citizens of the world, we are all in the same boat today. Any regional issue may spark a fire not only in the region, but in a large part of the world. Therefore, all of us need to do whatever we can for the sake of national, regional and global security, which starts right here, right now. It starts from words and deeds of each and every one of us."