„This is no surprise. Mr Trump has said before that he will try to pressure both sides to come to the negotiating table. What he is doing now is a continuation of the policy he announced. The signal has been received. This week, there will be a meeting of the EVT, where this issue will undoubtedly be discussed,“ Česnulevičius told Žinių Radijas on Tuesday.
„The first ones who will have to react to this situation are Ukraine,“ he added.
However, the President's adviser said that Europe supports Ukraine.
„At the European level, and with Lithuania, all leaders share a common vision that Russia is an existential threat. We see Ukraine's freedom not only through the prism of Ukraine itself but also through our security,“ said Mr Česnulevičius.
„The absolute majority sees the situation in the same way. Europe has declared that it will support Ukraine and pool its resources. At the end of this week, there will be a European response of one kind or another. Further negotiations are a question of further negotiations“, he stressed.
Europe has been discussing how to increase support for Ukraine for some time
EU leaders have been discussing the need to increase support for Ukraine in private talks for some time now, according to Mr Česnulevičius, after the new White House administration repeatedly stressed the need for Europe to be more concerned about its security.
„We now have an EU that is no longer discussing but declaring where it is going. The fact that Europe seems asleep and doing nothing is not the whole truth. There are closed conversations, discussions, calculations, and solutions on how to react. In this case, we are already talking about concrete plans on what could be done, how Ukraine could be further strengthened, what measures could be taken to weaken Russia, at least economically“, the presidential adviser said.
„These decisions are already on the table; they are being discussed. Maybe the EU solutions will not come at the beginning of the discussions. What we are talking about now is what exactly we can put on the table and what we can offer to the same America: our vision, our vision, our contribution“, he stressed.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump's administration confirmed that it is temporarily suspending US military assistance to Ukraine.
The decision follows a row between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office a few days earlier.
The Ukrainian President left the White House early after a tense exchange of positions.
The leaders also failed to sign a treaty exploiting Ukraine's raw material resources and cancelled a joint press conference.
This situation has led to pro-Ukrainian reactions from most EU leaders.