Middle East
Refugees being used as a weapon of war by Russia, says Minister Linkevičius
Refugees are being cynically used as a leverage by Russia-backed Syrian regime in peace negotiations, says Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius. A terrorist attack in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday will only make the situation in the Middle East more tense, he added. […]
Refugee resettlement in Lithuania and EU ‘is failing’
Lithuania and the European Union is likely to fail to implement the refugee resettlement plan, says Government Vice-Chancellor Rimantas Vaitkus. […]
Trump, Clinton, Cruz, Sanders: Who would be the best US president for the Baltics?
As the presidential race in the United States picks up pace, political analyst Simonas Klimanskis looks at which of the front-runners for the Democratic and Republican parties’ nominations would pursue foreign policies that are in the best interests of the Baltic States and Eastern Europe. […]
New push to exploit Middle East markets for dairy and meat products
Lithuanian meat and milk processors and the Ministry of Economy have created a joint working group to prepare and implement a plan to expand Lithuanian food exports in emerging markets. […]
‘Strengthening ties with Eastern partners key objective for Lithuania in 2016‘
Strengthening of relations with the Eastern partners remains one of the most important objectives for 2016, Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevičius told LRT Radio. […]
Lithuanian president’s adviser: People running from war are not terrorists
Chief advisor to the Lithuanian president on national security Valdemaras Sarapinas says that people running from war should not be called terrorists and Lithuania will stay committed to the European Union‘s (EU) refugee relocation plan. […]
Lithuania falls short of its development aid commitments
Proudly transitioning from an aid receiver to an affluent Western society, Lithuania has yet to live up to its commitments of financial help to the world’s poorest. […]
Lithuania supports intensive political dialogue between Israel and Palestine, president says
International security situation and recent outbreaks of violence in Israel were the main topic of the meeting of Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. […]
President Grybauskaitė: Difficult challenges for Lithuania and Israel
President Dalia Grybauskaitė, who is in Israel on an official visit, met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The meeting – the first between the Lithuanian president and the president of Israel, who was elected last year – focused on the most relevant issues relating to regional security and bilateral cooperation. The Israeli president, who emphasizes his Litvak roots, and Dalia Grybauskaitė also discussed measures to strengthen Israel’s ties with Lithuania, the presidential press service said. […]
President Grybauskaitė says her visit to Israel to give new momentum to relations
President Dalia Grybauskaitė is making an official visit to Israel on 19-21 October. She will be accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs and economy as well as by Chair of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, Faina Kukliansky, the presidential press service said. […]
Barbershop in Vilnius that prefers to employ refugees
As Lithuania is drafting plans how to integrate refugees from the Middle East that the country has agreed to accept, with some expressing doubts about opportunities for them to find jobs in the relatively closed and ethnically homogeneous country, there is one business in Vilnius that exclusively employs foreigners, many of them refugees from the Middle East. […]
Sigmar Gabriel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier: A confident and realistic approach to refugee crisis
What are our obligations to those threatened by war and violence? What and how much can we cope with? When will we reach our uppermost limits? Each of these three questions is quite legitimate. But if the debate is restricted to the media soundbites “we can do it” and “the boat is full”, then the refugee crisis threatens to tear our society apart. We need an honest discussion about our realistic scope for action. […]
Russia’s actions in Syria only escalate conflict, Lithuanian foreign minister says
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius took part in the European Union‘s (EU) Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 12 October, which focused on the situation in Syria and migration, Lithuania’s MFA said. […]
West will not renounce Ukraine in exchange for Russia’s help with ISIS, Grybauskaitė’s adviser says
The West will not renounce its commitments to Ukraine in exchange for Russia‘s help in fighting the Islamic State, an adviser to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, who’s attending UN events in New York, said on Tuesday. […]
Opinion: Renewing the Transatlantic commitment to democracy
The dangerous actions by Russia and Vladimir Putin pose the greatest challenge to security and democracy since WWII. This applies not only to the countries within Eurasia, but to our post-war vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace. While not necessarily a return to the Cold War, the current situation nevertheless has brought a clear competition of ideologies to the forefront: democracies founded on free elections, accountable governance and rule of law versus authoritarian ideals of “managed democracy.” […]