Advised to show solidarity with Poland in probe of Smolensk air crash

A group of parliamentarians representing the opposition conservatives and the ruling Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union have proposed a resolution on Strategic Partnership Between Lithuania and Poland. Among the authors are Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Audronius Ažubalis, Emanuelis Zingeris, Žygimantas Pavilionis, Rimantas Jonas Dagys, Egidijus Vareikis and Rūta Miliūtė.

“The fundamental point that is the most relevant has to do with the investigation of the catastrophe where we see that Russia did not want a broader investigation, it has not returned the debris, which are crucial for the probe. Poland’s current administration want to establish the truth and we strongly support their strife. With the resolution, we want to emphasize that this is not some settlement of scores, as some are trying to say but a normal strife of a country to find out what happened to its political elite and leaders,” Kasčiūnas, one of the MPs behind the resolution, told BNS.

According to the draft, Lithuania’s parliament “fully supports the resumed investigation of the airliner catastrophe, as it has never forgotten Russia’s refusal to cooperate with Lithuania in the investigation of the January 13 of 1991 (coup) and the Medininkai massacre” in light of the Russian actions after the 2010 crash of the Polish presidential airplane, damage of the debris and Russia’s refusal to return them to Poland, as well as a block of a broader international investigation and other violations in the probe.

“We see that Russia is not cooperating enough in the field, therefore, we are stating solidarity with the Polish government,” said Kasčiūnas.

The draft resolution calls “to continue and develop the strategic dialogue between Lithuania and Poland on the presidential and the parliamentary level based on the principles of mutual respect to sovereignty”, furthermore, Poland is asked to support the Lithuanian initiatives against the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Astravyets and contribute to the creation of a Nordic-Baltic-Polish (NBP9) cooperation format for defense, security and economic policy.

After Poland resumed the probe on the governmental airplane crash outside of Smolensk, western Russia, Polish prosecutors are working to determine whether charges should be brought against anyone.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of the late president who is heading Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, has strongly rejected the conclusions of the earlier aviation probe, which listed the catastrophe as an accident.