Thursday, December 12, 2019
Monday’s Normandy Four summit on peace in Ukraine was a first step in a positive direction, despite persistent disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says. The Ukrainian, Russian, French and German leaders “failed to reach consensus on many issues” in Paris, but the talks were “the first step in a positive direction”, he told reporters in Utena, eastern Lithuania. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky…
President Gitanas Nausėda has granted pardons to two Russian citizens jailed in Lithuania for espionage, opening the way for a prisoner swap with Moscow. Nikolai Filipchenko and Sergey Moiseyenko were both convicted for spying in 2017 and are currently serving prison sentences in Lithuania. The presidential decree says the two Russians were pardoned based on a new Criminal Code provision regulating spy swaps, which came into force earlier this week.…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, currently in Helsinki, has invited Finland to join efforts to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus. According to the president, Finland has specialists who could help the Belarusians to make the facility safe. “My idea is to use your expertise in this field, expertise of Finland, because you are very good specialists, you have a broad range of specialists who…
The Lithuanian president has attracted criticism after making a personal stop during an official visit to Japan. Although the president’s team insist that Gitanas Nausėda and his wife paid for the detour to Seoul to visit their daughter with their personal funds, analysts say it reeks of a clash of interests. Lithuania’s first couple were invited to attend the enthronement ceremony of Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito last week. The visit…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has expressed disappointment that European Union leaders did not invite North Macedonia and Albania to start membership negotiations. His comments came early Friday morning after talks in Brussels on possible expansion to Western Balkans ended without any agreement. “It’s a bit of a disappointment. We have to admit that we failed to reach a consensus, because three countries were against the decision to invite those two…
It has been almost 100 days since Gitanas Nausėda was inaugurated the president of Lithuania. We take a look back at his actions for indications of what’s to come. Over the first three months in office, President Nausėda has approved a new cabinet, vetoed four laws, delivered a speech at the United Nations and received a number of foreign leaders. These have included Indian Vice-President Venkaiah Naudy, Latvian President Egils…
An arms embargo in the Syrian conflict would not be effective unless applied to all involved parties, the Lithuanian president’s foreign policy advisor said on Tuesday. “We should talk about an arms embargo not only on Turkey, but also on all the warring parties involved in the conflict for that embargo to be effective,” Asta Skaisgiryte told the Ziniu Radijas radio station. “If only one warring party were subjected to…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda will pay particular attention to who will support his initiatives during parliamentary debates on next year’s budget, which may have an impact on his contacts with political parties after the next general election, his chief advisor said on Tuesday. “A lot will come to light during the budget debates in which a considerable part of the president’s initiatives will or will not materialize,” Povilas Maciulis told…
The dialogue between the United States and Europe in the area of energy is very important for ensuring the security of the Baltic states and Lithuania, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says. “It has never been more important, especially for those countries that have seen energy resources being used against them as a geopolitical weapon. I believe that the P-TEC (the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation) initiative offers a way out…
Lithuania continues attempts to support the image of a democratic state and at the same time not to lose foreign military support. On September 26, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda made his first address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In his speech he said that threat to Russia’s neighbouring countries remains strong and Moscow is attempting to further destabilise neighbouring states. Such a statement can be regarded…
