Deputy Minister Gashi participated in the Frontline Democracies Forum held in Lithuania

Prishtina, 7-8 July 2022 - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Liza Gashi, participated in the Frontline Democracies High-Level Panel held on 7 and 8 July, 2022 in Vilnius.

Within this forum, Deputy Minister Gashi also held bilateral discussions with her counterpart Mantas Adomėnas, where the topic of discussion was current political developments, stability and security in the Western Balkans, as well as building resilience against autocratic regimes.

In the wake of this, Deputy Minister Gashi, during her appearance at the forum, said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an example of how autocrats can artificially create crises if they are given the space. She added that the tactics used by Russia show how most autocracies operate in their plans to destabilize their neighbors or show their objectives in order to produce dissent, promote propaganda and disinformation. On this occasion, the participants also discussed the challenges that democracy is facing around the world, possible solutions for them and further cooperation.

On the other hand, Deputy Minister Adomėnas informed the participants of the event about the intention of Lithuania to create a cohort of resistance to severe pressure. They invited participating countries, NGOs and friends of democracy to join this initiative. During the panel it was revealed that on the eve of the US Democracy Summit in 2023, this alliance will seek to accelerate global action to help those suffering from authoritarian regimes and to strengthen the resilience of democratic societies against misinformation and economic coercion exercised by authoritarians.

The Frontline Democracies High-Level Panel was attended by representatives from 12 countries in Europe, Asia and North America, the Alliance of Democracies, Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy and other communities engaged in strengthening democracy.