News

On 17 August, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius thanked the outgoing Ambassador of Greece Michael-Efstratios C. Daratzikis for his contribution to the development of the bilateral relationship and expressed hope that in the future the two countries would continue to foster their friendly relationship based on shared values and solidarity.

Linkevičius stressed that Greece was Lithuania’s important partner within the European Union and NATO.

During the conversation, the Foreign Minister also informed the Greek Ambassador that on 17 August the Government of Lithuania had approved the agreement with Greece on a financial aid programme. Linkevičius stressed that the eurozone stability was important to Lithuania, therefore, Greece’s efforts to take important decisions on the necessary reforms were welcomed. The most important thing right now is to implement fully the commitments.

The Foreign Minister also stressed that solidarity among the EU member states was extremely important also when assessing the situation in Ukraine. According to Linkevičius, it is necessary to adhere to a unified position on EU sanctions against Russia, to uphold the policy of not recognising the illegal annexation of Crimea.

The meeting also discussed illegal migration, which is a highly relevant issue to Greece. The Foreign Minister expressed his solidarity with Greece in this field and noted that practical EU decisions were taken and joined by Lithuania, however, a thorough consistent effort was necessary to tackle the causes of migration.

Daratzikis has served as the Greek Ambassador to Lithuania since 3 February 2012.