News

In an interview to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas says that the difference of opinion on certain issues should not become an obstacle for shaping a positive agenda of relations between Lithuania and Russia. The interview, which was published last weekend, covers the topics of the perspectives of Lithuanian-Russian relations, cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, the necessity to admit the crimes of Stalinism, the EU-Russia negotiations on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

In the interview, Minister V.Ušackas stressed that even though there were differences in the interpretation of history and in the attitude towards the geopolitical orientation of the neighbouring countries, Lithuania and Russia were interested in the development of bilateral relations and good neighbourhood, which could become a model and basis for strengthening the EU-Russia relations.

The Minister believes that these relations should be based on the principles of democracy, respect for human rights, free market and respect for the territorial integrity of sovereign states. These principles, according to the Minister, should be reflected in the new fundamental EU-Russia agreement.

Minister V.Ušackas highlighted that Lithuania valued the input of the Russian people into the fight against Fascism and Nazism, but at the same time he pointed to the other side of the coin: “We expect that a day will come, when the Russian authorities will acknowledge that the occupation of Lithuania had not ended with the end of the Second World War.”

In the words of the Minister, the goal of the relations between Lithuania and Russia is a constructive and pragmatic cooperation with a strong emphasis on the Kaliningrad Region. The issues related to this region also topped the agenda of the meeting between Minister V.Ušackas and Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on 29 October in Moscow.

“The Kaliningrad Region can become a particular bridge between the EU and Russia, promoting cooperation between them. In the future, we would wish to see the region around the Baltic Sea become the most competitive region in the world,” Minister V.Ušackas said in the interview.

In the Minister’s opinion, all the Baltic Sea States could benefit from transport potential and turn their seaports into the gateway to Europe for goods from China and other Asian countries.