Speeches

Remarks by H.E. Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, at the Grunwald Monument in Kraków

Your Excellency President Bronisław Komorowski, Your Excellency Sejm Marshal Grzegorz Schetyna, Mr. President of Kraków, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is here at this very impressive Monument to the Battle of Žalgiris that, on behalf of the Lithuanian people, I send my greetings and congratulations to our sister nation of Poland on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of our joint historic victory.

This victory carries great meaning for both nations. We stood together and we won. It was not only once that our nations fought should to shoulder against a common enemy and they would surely suffer the most if they did not fight together.

For ages our nations have been bound by their similar historical destiny, shared ideals, aspirations, and even by such prominent people like Jogaila and Vytautas, Jadvyga and Barbora, Adam Mickiewicz and Czesław Miłosz, and many others.

When our two great nations fought in the Battle of Žalgiris, united as never before, their unity brought closer together the neighboring peoples. It encouraged them to participate in the victory that shaped the further pathway of not only our countries, but also of the whole of Europe.

We now have excellent conditions for our people to work, aspire and win together. There is only one eternal and universal prerequisite - and that is unity. Only united will we stand and prevail.

History, its lessons and life wisdom commit us to togetherness. I strongly believe that the 21st century and even the several coming years will pave the way towards no less important victories - this time on a peaceful battlefield for tomorrow.

God bless Lithuania and Poland. God bless the people of our two countries and their bright hopes for the future.

Congratulations on the Anniversary!