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John Kerry
Opinion
The Savchenko swap: Why did Putin really free Ukraine’s most famous pilot?
Vladimir Putin’s decision to pardon Nadezhda Savchenko was a purely pragmatic one. Left with no viable alternatives to freeing the Ukrainian pilot, Putin was forced to make a concession that may not sit well with the Russian population, which has come to see Savchenko as a symbol of the “Kiev junta.” […]
Defence
US commitments to Baltics are ‘strong and serious’
The United States will continue contributing to security of the Baltic states, Lithuania‘s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said after meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Brussels on Thursday. […]
Uncategorized
Russia’s counter to missile defence pushes Europe together
The ceremony of opening the United States’ missile defense base in Deveselu, Romania, last week (Thursday, May 12), was greeted by a barrage of condemnation and criticism from Russian officials. The next day, President Vladimir Putin turned these denouncements into state policy by defining this deployment of a radar station and SM-3 missile interceptors as a direct threat to Russia and promising to “curtail” it. […]
CORPORATE
What do Russian provocations in Baltic signal?
The US European Command said last weekend that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet “performed erratic and aggressive maneuvers”, flying within 50 feet of an American RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. […]
CORPORATE
Putin ‘would not tolerate a second humiliation’ if US shot down Russian jet
If the United States shot down a Russian plane over the Baltic it is unlikely Vladimir Putin would tolerate such an incident following the shooting down of a Russian plane by Turkey, said a leading […]
Defence
US warship ‘had right to shoot down Russian jets’ – Kerry
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that US warship, the USS Donald Cook, would have been within its rights to shoot down the Russian warplanes which flew within metres of the destroyer in the Baltic. […]
Foreign affairs
US extends sanctions on Russia for another year
US President Barack Obama has announced that the US will extend its sanctions against Russia for another year. The sanctions were initially implemented in March of 2014 response to the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine. […]
Foreign affairs
US, Kiev send towering congratulations to Lithuania for Independence Day
A skyscraper in the centre of Ukraine‘s capital Kiev was lit in the Lithuanian tricolor with Lithuanian coat of arms and a greeting written in Ukrainian as Ukraine marked Lithuania’s Independence Day to be celebrated on February 16th. […]
Opinion
Opinion: Is the West really about to betray Lithuania or Ukraine?
Last Tuesday, NATO decided to reduce the number of fighter jets stationed in the Baltic states as part of the NATO air policing mission. The number of fighter jets is to be cut from 16 down to 8. […]
Foreign affairs
Last interview with Ambassador Pavilionis in Washington: ‘We are still in the discovery stage in America’
We meet with Ambassador Žygimantas Pavilionis on a quiet Sunday morning in the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for the last interview before he leaves the USA and returns to Lithuania. […]
Uncategorized
Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry have brief conversation before EAS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a brief conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry before the ministerial meeting of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. […]
Foreign affairs
John Kerry: American people greet Baltic friends
The United States remembers the 75-year-old Welles Declaration as “an indelible sign of our shared commitment to freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity”, United States Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday. […]
Foreign affairs
Cubans spice up life in Lithuanian Embassy neighbourhood in Washington, DC
The building in Washington, DC, formerly known as ‘Swiss Embassy, Cuban Special Interest Section’ became as of Monday midnight officially the Cuban Embassy. Located right next to the Lithuanian Embassy in the US capital, the brass plates outside at the embassy were changed at midnight, after nearly 55 years of frozen diplomatic relations. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuania and Cuba soon to be diplomatic neighbours in Washington
Early Thursday morning several media teams set up in the neighbourhood of the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington DC. The Swiss Embassy, Cuban Special Interest Section is located next door to the Lithuanian Embassy on 16th Street. It houses the Cuban representation in the US Capital after the Americans severed diplomatic relations with the island nation 54 years ago at the height of the Cold War. The somewhat secretive mission got mainly attention in the past whenever demonstrators would gather to demand the release of Americans or dissidents held in Cuban prisons. All of that is about to end. […]
Uncategorized
Lithuanian MP: John Kerry’s visit to Russia does not change Washington’s position
A meeting of John Kerry, United States Secretary of State, and Russian President Vladimir Putin does not mean that Washington will soften its position regarding the conflict in Ukraine, says Lithuanian Deputy Seimas Speaker, Social Democrat Gediminas Kirkilas. […]
Energy
Lithuania may become first country to receive LNG from United States
Lithuania may become the first country to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States and, considering the agreements being signed, this might happen early next year, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius has said. […]
Foreign affairs
US remains Lithuania’s friend, Kerry tells Linkevičius
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linkevičius met on Monday with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington to discuss the countries’ strategic partnership. […]
John Kerry: Russia lying “to my face” about having troops in Ukraine
United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday accused Russian leaders of lying “to my face” about Moscow’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine and denounced what he called Russia’s “propaganda”, AFP reports. […]
Foreign affairs
US leaders congratulate Lithuania on Independence Day
US leader have congratulated Lithuania on the occasion of the upcoming Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania on February 16. United States President Barack Obama congratulated Lithuania via Secretary of State John Kerry. […]