The presidents of Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia adopted a joint declaration in which they indicated their intention to continue cooperation between the countries.

The document was signed on May 3 in Warsaw as part of the celebration of the 230th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

“The adoption in 1791 of this important act, which regulated the legal system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was of historical significance, since it was the first modern Basic Law of the State on our continent and the second in the world, which came into force,” says the text of the declaration published on website of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

The signatories of the document expressed confidence that the success of the common heritage of these countries requires that Europe "be built on fundamental values ​​and principles."

“These undoubtedly include: freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, rule of law, equality and solidarity,” the declaration says.

It is noted that the leaders of the five states "with understanding and support" refer to the aspirations of all the nations of the region, who seek "to enjoy the benefits of freedom and democracy, bravely demanding respect for their rights."

“We believe that for all of us, the solidarity of peoples, especially in the face of modern threats to our common security, is one of the cornerstones of peace, stability, development, prosperity and sustainability.

Guided by this conviction, we are committed to continuing the dialogue and cooperation of the states that we represent, ”the presidents stressed.

  • Events in honor of the 230th anniversary of the Constitution of May 3 of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

  • © president.pl

Claims against Russia

Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries have long been trying to increase cooperation, experts say.

In July 2020, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine created a partnership format called the Lublin Triangle.

The joint declaration of the countries then spoke of the centuries-old historical and cultural ties between the peoples of Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, the strategic importance of cooperation between the countries of the Eastern Partnership, NATO and the EU, as well as the Three Seas Initiative.

The participants in the new regional project paid special attention to claims against Russia.

Warsaw and Vilnius sided with Kiev's accusations, saying they did not recognize Russia's "attempted annexation" of the Crimean peninsula.

At the same time, Ukraine's partners expressed support for its aspirations to join NATO.

In 2014, the three countries signed an agreement to create a joint military brigade LitPolUkrBrig, which was formed in 2015.

The command of the unit is based in Lublin.

  • Military joint brigade LitPolUkrBrig

  • Reuters

  • © Valentyn Ogirenko

In April 2021, First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of the Seimas of Poland Malgorzata Hoshevskaya and Vice Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania Paulus Saudargas visited the Donbass - the settlement of Shirokino, the Mariupol port and the checkpoint "Gnutovo".

The parliamentarians made a joint statement following the trip, in which they accused Russia of "aggression" in the Donbass.

According to experts interviewed by RT, all the signatory countries of the declaration of cooperation - the Baltic republics, Poland and Ukraine - are united by a foreign policy agenda, and we are talking about a geopolitical confrontation with Russia.

“There is also an ideological unity, since there is a tendency in the region to rehabilitate Nazism in one form or another.

Well, under the general threats, the leaders of these countries mean, of course, Russia, "Oleg Nemensky, a leading researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, explained in a commentary to RT.

North Atlantic aspect

Participants of the celebrations in honor of the 230th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth also touched upon the topic of Ukraine's possible entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.


As the President of Poland Andrzej Duda said at a joint briefing with Zelensky, the roadmap for Ukraine's entry into NATO will be discussed at the June summit of the alliance.

In turn, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that he believes in the future of Ukraine, and the country's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance and the EU depends on the Ukrainians themselves.

“I would like to emphasize that I believe in the future of Ukraine, but at the same time I would like to say that the actions that will lead Ukraine to the EU and NATO must be filled from within with the actions of Ukrainians, thanks to their spirit and mind,” said Nauseda, speaking in the Polish capital, Sputnik Lithuania quotes him.

  • AFP

  • © Francisco Seco / POOL

According to experts, the Polish president hastened to announce the consideration of a roadmap for Ukraine's accession to NATO.

As Vladimir Shapovalov, director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, noted in an interview with RT, with such a statement, the Polish leadership tried to put pressure on the alliance partners.

“It is known that so far at the level of the NATO leadership, the question of Ukraine's imminent entry into the bloc has not been raised.

This position has not changed since 2008, when a principled decision on Ukraine was made at the alliance summit.

However, Poland is rushing things, trying to assume the functions of a conductor of American policy in Europe.

With such a statement, Duda tried to push back Berlin and show that it is Warsaw that is the main partner of the United States, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

Oleg Nemensky adheres to a similar point of view.

“It is unlikely that Ukraine will receive a roadmap for joining NATO in the foreseeable future.

So far, Kiev has no prospects of joining the alliance.

However, the Polish authorities have long insisted that the doors to NATO should be open to everyone.

Therefore, Duda's words can be regarded simply as a declaration of Warsaw's position, ”the expert explained.

Unity in spite of

According to experts, in recent years, the connecting element for Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic countries is precisely the hostility towards Russia.

The authorities of all signatory countries of the declaration of cooperation have repeatedly stated about the alleged threat from Moscow.

Thus, the topic of the "Russian threat" has become one of the key aspects of the Polish national security strategy, which was signed a year ago by Andrzej Duda.

The same topic was raised by the Lithuanian authorities.

President Gitanas Nauseda called the deployment of NATO military contingent in the Baltics "a strong deterrent" for Russia.

“Without the support of the United States and other NATO allies, we would not have been able to effectively contain the Russian threat,” Nauseda said at the 2020 Munich Security Conference. 

  • Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks

  • AFP

  • © JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN

Similar sentiments are being whipped up by the Estonian authorities.

Earlier, the Minister of Defense of the Republic Kalle Laanet said that it was Russia that posed the greatest threat to the security of Estonia.

In his opinion, Moscow is allegedly ready to start a war due to "socio-economic" problems within Russia.

In turn, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks announced the army's readiness to repulse Russian troops. 

At the same time, experts doubt that Kiev, Warsaw, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius will be able to create a solid regional bloc.

“For example, Ukraine has neither the resources nor the political capabilities to participate in such a bloc.

So it is unlikely that the cooperation of these five countries will be too deep.

However, the harsh anti-Russian rhetoric of the countries, primarily Poland and the Baltic states, affects the general background of political sentiments in Europe, ”Oleg Nemensky noted.

Vladimir Shapovalov also has no doubts that the authors of the declaration mean Russia by the common threat for the countries.

“All these countries take a pronounced anti-Russian position, and also consistently try to falsify history in order to present Russia as an“ occupier ”.

In general, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia have a wide range of topics and interests, and all of them are related to Russia, ”the expert explained.

According to Shapovalov, these five countries, in fact, today have turned into a bridgehead that the United States is using to whip up tensions on the Russian borders.

“By themselves, these countries do not pose a threat to Russia.

However, they are not sovereign in their actions and they can be used by the United States as a convenient support.

And this already poses a serious threat.

In addition, four out of five countries are members of NATO and the EU, and are constantly fueling anti-Russian sentiment in Europe.

This negatively affects relations between the EU and Russia, ”the expert summed up.