May 16th, 2023, during the "Vilnius NATO Summit - What Can We Hope For?" discussion held at MRU, former Bundestag member Prof. Dr. Karl A. Lamers told participants that Germany will continue support for Ukraine “as long as it takes.”
Prof. Lamers, a keynote speaker at the public discussion, said that since 2016 the world has “changed fundamentally” and global security is at stake in the Ukraine-Russian war.
The outcome of the War will change the “architecture of Europe” for decades to come, said Prof. Lamers, speaking during the panel discussion on the upcoming Vilnius NATO Summit that will be held in Lithuania’s capital in July.
Prof. Lamers was one of a number of panelists discussing Ukraine’s desire to enter NATO, the war in Ukraine and military spending in European Union (EU) countries.
“Ukraine must win this War,” Prof. Lamers told students and several ambassadors attending the event. For far too long the West had closed “our eyes,” to Russia’s invasions into other countries and ignored the rhetoric coming from Russia's Vladimir Putin including his blaming of the West for starting the Ukraine War, Prof. Lamers noted.
Ambassadors, including Ukraine’s Ambassador to Lithuania Petro Beshta and Representative Eric Jiun-Yaw Huang of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania attended the event.
Panel members who expressed their opinions about the global state of affairs included: Lithuania’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevičius, Lithuania’s former Prime Minister and former Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, Lithuania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Vice-Minister Jonas Survila and Vilnius University’s (VU) Institute of International Relations and Political Science Director Prof. Dr. Margarita Šešelgytė.
The discussion was moderated by MRU Communication Institute Assoc. Prof. Virgis Valentinavičius.
The former German parliament member Dr. Lamers was awarded an honorary MRU degree in 2011. He was recognized then for his role in developing the international studies and research sphere, strengthening university autonomy and assuring a high quality of studies and research.
This annual event at MRU draws students, academics and politicians together to discuss pressing security and political issues.
Prof. Lamers has set up a competition for the Dr. Karl A. Lamers Peace Prize. It is an Essay Contest for MRU students and the winner of the contest will receive a 1000 Euro cash prize. The second place winner will be awarded 600 Euros, and 400 euros will go to the author of the third-best essay. More info here.
(photos by MRU's Ieva Meironaitė)
