Lithuania: President warns against “quick agreement” on Ukraine war

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed scepticism about attempts to end the war in Ukraine with a “quick agreement,” BNS reported. Speaking after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Nauseda said that he did not believe that a quick ceasefire would lead to sustainable peace. Instead, it could amount to a “moral defeat” for…

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Lithuania: President expects coalition government to collapse

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda does not expect the country’s three-party coalition government to survive, BNS reports. Earlier, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, chairman of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas party, expressed doubts about raising defence spending and labelled Ukraine a corrupt country, LRT reported. Speaking in an interview with Verslo Zinios, Nauseda accused Zemaitaitis of discrediting “not only…

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Lithuania: Presidential aide urges against hasty exit from mine ban treaty

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s chief foreign policy adviser, Asta Skaisgiryte, urged against making “hasty steps” in withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Skaisgiryte called for a regional solution on the issue. She supported a collective withdrawal from the treaty by NATO’s eastern flank or…

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Lithuania: President urges review of export ban on dual-use goods

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called for a quick review of restrictions on the export of dual-use goods, BNS reports. Earlier, Economy Minister Lukas Savickas proposed relaxing the restrictions urgently. The previous government banned the export by air of several goods that Russia could use in its war against Ukraine to most third countries. Speaking in…

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Lithuania: Homeland Union turns to court over president’s government approval

Lithuania’s conservative Homeland Union plans to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of President Gitanas Nauseda’s decree approving an incomplete cabinet of ministers, BNS reports. Homeland Union MP Mindaugas Linge argued that the formation of an incomplete government annuls the deadlines for the appointment of ministers who have not been appointed, which…

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Lithuania: President approves new cabinet without environment, justice ministers

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has approved the country’s new cabinet of ministers, BNS reports. He described the incoming centre-left government as more capable than the outgoing centre-right government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) will hold the post of prime minister and will have nine ministers in the new government,…

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Lithuania: Incoming PM says not informed of expulsion of Chinese diplomats

Lithuania’s incoming prime minister, Gintautas Paluckas, said that he was not informed about the government’s decision to expel three Chinese diplomats, BNS reports. He said that the consequences of the move remained to be seen, noting that diplomatic relations with China were already “practically non-existent.” China has warned that the expulsions could lead to retaliatory…

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Lithuania: Legitimacy of Georgian parliament under question: presidential adviser

Georgia’s new parliament is not entirely legitimate, Asta Skaisgiryte, chief foreign policy adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, stated, LRT reports. If the parliament elects a new president, then the legitimacy of the president would be under question as well, she noted. Speaking in an interview with LNK, Skaisgiryte announced that Lithuania would offer refuge to…

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Baltic: Baltic states to impose sanctions on Georgian authorities

The three Baltic states have agreed to impose national sanctions against those who suppressed legitimate protests in Georgia, Civil Georgia reports. In their joint statement, the Baltic foreign ministers said that “opponents of democracy and violators of human rights are not welcome in our countries.” Meanwhile, all three Baltic presidents phoned their Georgian counterpart, Salome…

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