Contents tagged with Lithuania

  • Two Russian planes violate Lithuanian air space during Zapad-2017 exercises

    On Saturday, September 16, two Russian Il-76 military transport planes flew into Lithuanian air space, Delfi news agency reported, citing information from the Lithuanian Defense Ministry.

    It was reported that the aircraft were over Lithuanian territory for a period of two minutes. They were sent from the Russian mainland to one of the airfields in the Kaliningrad region.

    On Monday, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry registered a protest with the Russian ambassador in connection with the incident, …

  • Delegation of Russian judges who recognized the annexation of Crimea not allowed to attend world congress in Lithuania

    The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Valery Zorkin, as well as other Russian judges who recognized as legitimate Russian annexation of the Crimea, were not allowed into the World Conference on Constitutional Justice in Lithuania, reported Ukrainian MP Iryna Friz.

    "For the first time in the history of the Congress, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation Zorkin and other Russian judges who made the decision to recognize the annexation of the …

  • Lithuania urges Russia to cancel Zapad 2017 military exercises

    Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius urged Russia to cancel the planned Zapad 2017 large-scale military exercises in NATO’s eastern flank, DW.com reports.

    “We are concerned by the fact that Moscow has relocated 4,000 systems capable of carrying nuclear weaponry to Belarus, and at least 30,000 soldiers. This dangerous saber-rattling must stop,” Linkevičius said in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.

    According to him, the Russian figures of only 12,000 drill participants …

  • Belarus denies entry to six Lithuanian MPs

    Six Deputies from the Lithuanian Seimas that were invited to take part in the discussion "Regional Security and Exercises West 2017" on September 11th in Minsk were refused a Belarusian visa. The Belarusian authorities have not commented on this decision yet.

    As the Co-Chairman of the Round Table Committee, the leader of the United Civil Party (UCP), Anatoly Lebedko, told Deutsche Welle that throughout the day on September 8th, the final decision on the Lithuanian deputies was postponed …

  • Lithuanian ambassador to Ukraine: Lithuania concerned about human rights violations in Crimea

    Lithuania is extremely concerned about human rights violations in the annexed Crimea, including the rights of the Crimean Tatars, with whom Lithuania has close historical ties.

    Ukrinform reports that Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Marius Janukonis, who took part in the 4th Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum as part of a delegation led by the Lithuanian Seimas Chairman Viktoras Pranckietis, spoke about this topic on September 1 at a briefing in Kherson.

    "This is the first such visit at the …

  • Lithuanian Foreign Minister: Ukraine needs to establish special anti-corruption court

    Ukraine should create a special anti-corruption court in the near future, as stated during a meeting with the leadership of NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine) in Lithuania by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Linas Linkevičius, the website of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reports.

    Linkevičius emphasized that the implementation of reforms and fighting corruption are both important for building a successful …

  • Ahead of Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 exercises US sends 7 fighters jets to Lithuania

    Prior to the start of the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 military exercises, the United States decided to strengthen the air police mission of the Baltic States by sending seven F-15C Eagle fighters. They landed at the Lithuanian Air Force base in Siauliai on Tuesday, reported the Lithuanian edition of Delfi, citing the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

    For the last two years, the mission from Lithuania had four allied fighters. About 140 soldiers from the U.S. base in Great Britain will …

  • Lithuania calls on the US to start shipping weapons to Ukraine

    The United States should be helping Ukraine with arms supplies, said Lithuanian Minister of Defense Raimundas Karoblis on Thursday on national radio.

    "Assistance from the US should not be just symbolic, but also be the supply of specific weapons that would help neutralize modern Russian weapons available in the Donbas," Karoblis said.

    The head of the Defense Ministry expressed hope that "sooner or later such a decision will be made by Washington. Then, perhaps, the example of the United …

  • Ukrainian Minister of Defense: Lithuania is the only country which provided lethal weapons for Ukraine

    Ukraine expects that partner countries will provide it with lethal weapons. To date, only Lithuania has provided such assistance to the state, stated the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Stepan Poltorak.

    "Since the first day of aggression by the Russian Federation, we have appealed to all countries of the world to provide us with lethal weapons. We received such assistance only from Lithuania. We are ready to receive lethal weapons, but this requires the decision of the partner countries," …

  • Lithuanian Foreign Minister: Lithuania welcomes the growing support for Ukraine by the United States

    The Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Linas Linkevičius, during a meeting with the US Special Envoy on Ukraine, Kurt Volker, congratulated him on his appointment to this post and welcomed the growing attention and support that the US is giving to the region and Ukraine, as reported on the Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Ministry website.

    It is noted that Volker took part in the regional leadership conference at Vilnius University that was organized by the Lithuanian President, Valdus Adamkus. …