Grybauskaitė stresses security and energy before meeting with Obama

“In the face of the Russian aggression, the firm support demonstrated by the US is extremely important to the Baltic states,” Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė said on the eve of the meeting.

Following the meeting in Tallinn, the presidents will travel to Wales for the NATO summit which will take place on Thursday and Friday. The summit will discuss a broad package of measures to ensure the long-term presence of allies in Lithuania and neighboring NATO states.

In the interview to Lithuania’s national radio LRT published on Wednesday, Grybauskaitė said that the US president’s visit indicates that “he understands regional problems and threats emerging from Russia’s conduct in Europe.”

“This is good, because such support enables us, the three Baltic nations, to be optimistic about the decisions that should be made at the NATO summit,” said the Lithuanian leader.

In Grybauskaitė’s words, Lithuania hopes that “in case of a threat, the US will be the first country to stretch out a helping hand along with other NATO member-states.”

The Lithuanian president also expressed hope that the US will decide to liberalize shale gas exports, and the gas could reach Europe, including Lithuania, in merely a few years after development of the necessary infrastructure.

“Within two or three years, the US will definitely be in Eastern Europe with its shale gas. Yes, it is very important to us, as this will revolutionize the European and the global gas market. Therefore, it would be enormous support to our energy independence, as we have the liquefied gas terminal,” said Grybauskaitė.