News

On 12 August Lithuanian Foreign Minster Antanas Valionis and Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Lithuania Yuri Zubakov exchanged ratification instruments of the Treaty on the State Border and the Treaty on the Exceptional Economic Zone and Continental Shelf in the Baltic Sea. Foreign Minister Valionis stressed that the completion of the treaty endorsement process is an important event with regard to strengthening Lithuania’s statehood and independence. “It will contribute to further development of good neighbourly relations between Lithuania and Russia,” the Chief of Lithuanian Diplomacy stated. The Ambassador of Russian Federation Yuri Zubakov expressed his delight that the ratification letters of these important treaties had been exchanged during his tenure in Lithuania. The Chief of Lithuanian Diplomacy thanked the outgoing Ambassador for his professional work, which helped to solve a lot of issues in bilateral relations. With regard to the settlement of the unique issue of the Kaliningrad transit, the both officials noted that the passenger flows had not diminished and the control system had been working successfully. During the conversation, Minister Valionis also discussed the topical issues of further cooperation of Lithuania and Russia. The Minister and the Ambassador exchanged opinions on preparation for the possible visit of President Vladimir Putin to Lithuania and meetings of other top officials of both countries. The officials discussed possibilities to expedite the ratification process of the treaties on avoidance of double taxation and on protection of investment, further cooperation implementing infrastructure projects, the necessity to exchange information on the D-6 oil deposit and other environmental issues. Russian Ambassador to Lithuania Zubakov thanked the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry for cooperation and expressed his belief in further positive development of Lithuanian-Russian relations.