News

On June 9-12, a delegation headed by Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Giedrius Čekuolis was in Washington DC on a working visit. On June 11, the Lithuanian delegation took part in consultations at the State Department with high-ranking officials of the US Government on Lithuania’s preparation for NATO membership. These were the first consultations of such an extent after the visit of the US interdepartmental delegation lead by the US Ambassador to NATO Nick Burns in late February, which collected information and started drafting the US Government report on Lithuania’s preparation for NATO membership. During the consultations, the US Government was represented by Deputy Advisor to the State Secretary Bob Bradke, Deputy Advisor to the State Secretary Heather Conley, Director of European Affairs Walter Andrusyszyn, Deputy Secretary of Defence Department Ian Brzezinski, Ambassador of the State Department on the Holocaust Matters Randolph Bell, other representatives of government and military. Heather Conley noted that after the visit of the US interdepartmental delegation Lithuania had made huge progress. She congratulated the adoption of the National Security Strategy and the agreement among Williams, Jukos and the Lithuanian Government on Mažeikių Nafta to be signed on June 18. Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Čekuolis noted that the National Security Strategy had outlined the vision of a secure future, which takes good account of the euro-integration processes, international cooperation and promotion of neighbourly relations. Giedrius Čekuolis stressed that Lithuania is ready to contribute in concrete and practical ways towards the creation of a secure and stable international environment, and mentioned as an example changes in the legal framework regarding Lithuanian troops participation in military operations outside Lithuania. Giedrius Čekuolis also described the Lithuanian Government’s Anticorruption Programme and its implementation to the officials of the US Government. The representatives of the US Government positively evaluated the hand-over of Torah scrolls to the Israeli-based Jewish Heritage Centre "Hechal Shlomo", the activities of the International Commission on Evaluation of Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Regimes in Lithuania as well as the Holocaust Education Programme currently carried out in Lithuania. The representatives of the US Government were also interested in the process of restitution of Jewish community property. Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Čekuolis also visited the non-Governmental American Enterprise Institute, where he together with experts and journalists discussed the prospects of Lithuania’s NATO membership and relations with Russia. During the press conference, Giedrius Čekuolis and Director of the American Enterprise Institute’s New Atlantic Initiative Radek Sikorski announced that it had been agreed to hold a large conference in Vilnius in May next year, called Vilnius Congress, which would welcome NATO and Vilnius Group country representatives. During the visit to Washington DC, Giedrius Čekuolis also discussed the matters of Euro-Atlantic integration and regional security with National Security Council Director of NATO Affairs Kurt Volker, RAND Corporation’s experts on political research Stephen Larrabee and Ron Asmus, Director of the State Department for Russian Affairs John M. Evans and other officials. In Washington DC, there was also a meeting with American Jewish Committee Director of International Affairs Andrew Baker.