Opinion
Ukraine
Defence
Lithuania’s chief of defence: Five lessons to be learned from conflict in Ukraine
After the State Defence Council decided that conscription of 19-26-year-olds should be reintroduced for a 5-year period and as the Seimas is preparing to consider the issue, Chief of Defence Major General Jonas Vytautas Žukas says Lithuania has learned five lessons from the conflict in Ukraine. […]
European Union
Lithuanian foreign minister hopes for expansion of EU’s Russia sanctions
Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius hopes the existing sanctions against individual sectors of the Russian economy will be expanded. […]
Uncategorized
Opinion
Opinion: Peace on paper
The world is still waiting for measures of the Minsk Agreement to be implemented. Ukraine experiences continual military confrontation, and situation in Debaltseve region has also worsened dramatically. According to the recent information thousands of Ukrainian troops could again be trapped in the Debaltseve boiler. The Ukrainian side denies siege possibilities, whereas separatists inform on their achievements in encircling Ukrainian troops. […]
Uncategorized
Former President Adamkus: Russia’s imperialist goals pose threat to Baltic states
Russia‘s imperialist goals are posing a real threat to Lithuania, but the country’s NATO membership is a guarantee of security, former Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus says. […]
Foreign affairs
US remains Lithuania’s friend, Kerry tells Linkevičius
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linkevičius met on Monday with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington to discuss the countries’ strategic partnership. […]
Uncategorized
Russia’s ambition in central Europe exceeds its capability
Russia has actively worked to boost its leverage in Central Europe over the past few years, and the crisis in Ukraine has only heightened the Kremlin’s interest in the region. Russia aims to use commercial and political ties to undermine Western institutions and to steer Central Europe toward Russian interests. […]
Uncategorized
Mikheil Saakashvili: Baltics do not have strategic advantages of Ukraine
In an interview with DELFI, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that, in the event of war, the Baltics lack the strategic advantages held by Ukraine. […]
Opinion
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian government allocates EUR 80,000 for Ukrainian children
The Government of Lithuania on Wednesday allocated additional EUR 80,000 to support Ukrainian children receiving education in Lithuania. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuania to appoint new ambassadors to Ukraine and Czech Republic
The Lithuanian government on Wednesday backed the appointment of Marius Janukonis, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs‘ Eastern Neighbourhood Policy Department, as the country’s ambassador to Ukraine. Diplomat Edvilas Raudonikis will be appointed as Lithuania’s ambassador to the Czech Republic. […]
Uncategorized
Lithuanian foreign minister conveys condolences over deaths in Donetsk coal mine
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius on Wednesday conveyed condolences over deaths in the explosion in a coal mine in Donetsk, Ukraine. […]
Opinion
Boris Nemtsov, 1959–2015
This is probably the most difficult piece in my life. […]
Defence
Foreign affairs
Uncategorized
Global LT
Professor Landsbergis and Foreign Minister Linkevičius in Washington
During a gruelling 48 whirlwind tour of the US Capital, Professor Vytautas Landsbergis and Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius participated in the 25th anniversary celebration of reinstatement of Lithuanian independence and visited some of the most influential political leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner and Senator John McCain. […]
Uncategorized
Putin’s middle class is fleeing to Latvia
Vitaly Mansky, a Russian documentary filmmaker, knows exactly when he decided to establish a bolthole outside the Russian Federation. It was the spring of 2014, and Mansky was in Spain for a film festival, watching news in his hotel room. An anchor at one of the Kremlin-controlled news stations reported that Russia’s parliament had allowed President Vladimir Putin to use the army to protect his compatriots in other countries. In other words, they had legalized the annexation of Crimea and provided support for pro-Russian combatants in Eastern Ukraine. […]