Contents tagged with Lithuania

  • Seimas of Lithuania urges Russia to end the annexation of the Crimea

    The Seimas of Lithuania adopted a resolution calling on Russia to end the annexation of the Crimea, as was reported by Delfi news agency.

    In the resolution adopted on the occasion of the third anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea, the Seimas expresses "firm support for Ukraine's independence, its territorial integrity and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders."

    Lithuanian parliamentarians also strongly condemn "the annexation of part of the territory of sovereign …

  • US battalion was deployed to Lithuania on a permanent basis

    The presence of American troops in Lithuania is virtually permanent, said Curtis Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO.

    “We have forces here here 365 days a year. I want some flexibility on that, so it may not be [permanent deployment] but it will be nearly that if not that because of the forces we have,” Scaparrotti told reporters on Thursday.

    He noted that the rotation of the US battalion in Lithuania would take place in June and July, and the division would take part in the “ …

  • Ukraine and five Eastern European countries ask U.S. not to remove sanctions from Russia

    Diplomats from six Eastern European states, including Ukraine, made a plea to U.S. senators to help in the confrontation with Russia.

    As noted by Reuters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, as well as the Ambassadors of Poland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia came to hearings of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.

    They urged the U.S. not to lift sanctions from Russia in the near future. "Until Russia withdraws from the Ukrainian territory, there should …

  • Lithuanian Foreign Minister: EU is partially responsible for annexation of the Crimea

    Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius believes that the EU bears partial responsibility for the annexation of the Crimea by Russia and the war in the east of Ukraine. According to him, the European Union, and the West could have reacted more quickly and done more.

    "We are not consistently consistent, we reacted inappropriately. Sometimes our reaction is too late, sometimes too weak, "he said.

    Linkevičius believes that the West has chosen a comfortable position, the "golden mean," for …

  • An ex-serviceman and a Russian citizen were convicted of spying in Lithuania

    On Tuesday, the Siauliai District Court found a former Lithuanian Armed Forces officer and a Russian citizen guilty of espionage.

    Russian citizen Sergey Moiseenko was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison; he was also convicted of the unlawful disposal of a large quantity of ammunition and explosives, as well as combat grenades.

    Former Lithuanian Air Force officer, Sergei Pusin was sentenced to five years in prison for espionage, as reported to BNS (Baltic News Service) by the court’ …

  • Lithuania has requested that the U.S. military's deployment in the country be permanent

    Linas Linkevičius, head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, said that the country considers the constant presence of American troops in their territory necessary, and that this request has already been expressed to the US authorities.

    “We are advocating the constant presence of American troops, on account of the fact that our own possibilities are extremely limited,” Linkevičius stated, as cited by Delfi.

    He also added that he made this request to the US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert …

  • German tanks and armored vehicles arrive in Lithuania

    A heavy machine division of the Bundeswehr successfully reached Lithuania on Friday, February 24, a representative of the German armed forces reported. Twenty Marder infantry fighting vehicles and six Leopard 2 tanks were delivered by rail to Sheshtokai station. From Sheshtokai they were transported to their place of permanent deployment at the Rukla military base.

    Transports of the heavy machine division to Lithuania took several days. On February 21, part of the division departed from …

  • Lithuanian President: Construction of nuclear plant near Lithuanian border is the Russian geopolitical project against Lithuania

    The Belarusian NPP (BAES) which is being constructed near the Lithuanian border is a geopolitical project of Russia directed against Lithuania, said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, as reported by Delfi media source.

    “I consider this project, BAES, a Russian geopolitical project, malevolently directed against Lithuania. This is an opportunity to blackmail and put pressure on Lithuania, to impede its integration with the West,” Grybauskaite stated.

    According to her, Lithuania needs to …

  • Lithuania will seek to maintain sanctions against Russia until it leaves the Crimea

    Lithuania will seek to maintain all sanctions against Russia until it withdraws from the occupied territories of Ukraine, as stated by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the third anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea.

    “Lithuania strongly supports the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In support of Ukraine, we will continue to implement the non-recognition policy of the illegal annexation of the Crimea that began three years ago,” the …

  • Lithuanian President hopes for even more support from NATO and the U.S.

    Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė announced during the Munich Security Conference that her country expects even broader military assistance from the United States to further strengthen NATO's eastern flank. The President made the statement on Saturday, February 18 during a meeting of the leaders of the three Baltic States with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

    Grybauskaitė stressed at the end of the meeting, in an interview to Agence France-Presse (AFP), that it is important to bear in …