Minister Linkevičius: Russia’s spying in Lithuania shouldn’t surprise anyone

“Such activities should not surprise anybody. They are taking place and law enforcement institutions are doing their job,” the minister told BNS by phone from Moldova on Monday. “Such things cannot do any good for relations and they definitely do not contribute to building trust. But, unfortunately, such things are part of today’s reality.”

Earlier in the day, Lithuania’s Prosecutor General‘s Office said a Russian citizen, born in 1977, was detained last week, suspected of spying. The detainee worked for Russia’s Federal Security Service FSB.

According to Linkevičius, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already acting as a mediator in ensuring that the detainee can meet the Russian consul in Lithuania.

According to Lithuanian prosecutors, the suspected spy “carried out an intelligence operation against Lithuania, aimed at penetrating Lithuania’s governing institutions, Lithuanian law-enforcement and intelligence services”.

According to the State Security Department, the detention prevented “access to the information known to top leaders of Lithuania only with the aim of manipulating and influencing decision-making processes in Lithuania at the top level”.

This is the fourth spying case disclosed by Lithuanian law enforcement and intelligence within less than a year.