R. Juknevičienė: intelligence services did not present any information about a coup in Lithuania

“Both services clearly stated that they did not provide the prime minister with any information linked to a coup or protests, with Russia‘s influence and cannot tell us anything because they have no information on it,” R. Juknevičienė told journalists after an NSGK meeting on Wednesday.

She stated that Conservatives representatives in the NSGK received a letter from PM Saulius Skvernelis, which specifies that apparently the MPs should find out about his contacting the special services themselves. The Conservative MP also noted that despite the committee members requesting further information through their committee chairman, the “Farmer” majority in the committee voted that the information is not to be provided.

Another Conservative MP in the committee, Arvydas Anušauskas muses that the report, which the prime minister has spoken of, may be fabricated by the “Farmers”, given that the intelligence services deny having any such information.

Lrt.lt reminds that Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis declared several weeks ago he had found out about a secret Conservative plan to overthrow the “Farmer” government and spoke in Seimas about potential Kremlin meddling in the TS-LKD. Later, he clarified that he called on the intelligence services not due to the Conservatives, but due to “processes ongoing in the country.” S. Skvernelis stated that he shared the information received from the services with Seimas Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis and “Farmer” leader Ramūnas Karbauskis, however noting that the document will not be shared with opposition representatives.

R. Juknevičienė is convinced that S. Skvernelis is in breach of the Constitution by refusing to share intelligence information with Seimas opposition representatives. She describes it as a gross abuse of office and involving the intelligence branch into politics. “The declaration that some committee members can have access to the information and some cannot is a clear breach of the Constitution because based on the Constitution, all members of Seimas are equal, regardless of their party affiliation or where they were elected, in a district or elsewhere,” she stated.