A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said that the ministry had sent a note allowing Russia to set up voting sites in Kaunas, Siauliai and Visaginas for Russian nationals living or visiting Lithuania to cast their votes.
“Russia asked for additional permissions to arrange polling stations in Kaunas, Visaginas and Šiauliai and it was granted these permissions,” Rasa Jakilaitienė told BNS.
She added that Russia would have to coordinate further steps in setting up the polling stations with local authorities.
Polling stations will also be set up at the Russian embassy in Vilnius and its Consulate General in Klaipeda without a separate request from Moscow.
The state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti quoted Russia’s ambassador to Vilnius, Alexander Udaltsov, as saying that he welcomed Lithuania’s decision and that Russia would be receptive to a similar request from Lithuania during its 2019 presidential election.
According to Jakilaitienė, Moscow asks for more voting sites in Lithuania ahead of every election in Russia and such requests are almost always granted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to win the a fourth presidential term in the March 2018 election.