Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said he is prepared to help mediate a growing diplomatic dispute between Ukraine and Poland if both countries request Lithuania's involvement.
Speaking to Lithuanian broadcaster LNK, Nausėda said preserving strong ties between Warsaw and Kyiv was in the interests of regional security, particularly as Russia's war against Ukraine continues.
"Both nations are close partners of Lithuania, and I am ready to do everything possible to ensure that this relationship does not deteriorate," he said.
The Lithuanian leader added that any mediation effort would depend on whether both sides wished for outside assistance.
His comments come amid rising tensions between Poland and Ukraine following a dispute over historical memory and wartime legacy.
The row intensified after Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced on June 20 that he was revoking the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Nawrocki said Poland's patience had been tested after Kyiv granted a military unit an honorary title linked to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
The UPA fought for Ukrainian independence during and after the Second World War, but remains a deeply controversial organisation in Poland, where it is associated with the massacre of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in Volhynia and other regions.
Ukraine regards the UPA as part of its national struggle for independence, while Poland has repeatedly called on Kyiv to acknowledge the group's role in wartime atrocities.
In response to the Polish president's decision, Zelenskyy returned the decoration by post and said Ukraine remained committed to maintaining constructive relations with its partners.
Several senior Ukrainian officials and former leaders later returned Polish state honours in a reciprocal gesture.
The dispute has drawn concern among allies who view close cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv as vital to supporting Ukraine's defence against Russia.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticised the move to strip Zelenskyy of the honour, arguing that it played into Moscow's interests and risked damaging unity among partners backing Ukraine.
Nausėda said he hoped to discuss the issue directly with President Nawrocki during a visit to Poland this weekend.
He also noted that Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko had signalled at a reconstruction conference in Gdańsk that Kyiv was seeking to reduce tensions.
"The past is important," Nausėda said, "but what is especially important today is that aggression against Ukraine is continuing."
By Aghakazim Guliyev
