Lithuanian American Council

Russia’s Kaliningrad buildup causes NATO chief concern

VILNIUS: NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen Thursday urged Russia to refrain from building up its military near the alliance’s borders, saying it was a concern for the 28-nation organization. Rasmussen questioned Russian moves to bolster its forces in its Kaliningrad territory, which borders NATO members Lithuania and Poland, both part of Moscow’s Cold War-era stamping ground. “These Russian statements are of course a matter of concern for NATO allies,” he told reporters in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius. “It is a complete [...]

Lithuanian relations with Russia could improve if we eliminate dependence on Russian energy, said Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius on Tuesday. According to him, keeping good neighbourly relations is one of Lithuania’s key priorities, yet the quality of relation must be a mutual concern, informs LETA/ELTA. “It is very important to improve our relations more, even though they are not bad as such. If we could see that let’s say giant Russian energy companies do not abuse their monopolistic position, [...]

The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Vilnius on 19 January and met with President Dalia Grybauskaite, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and other high-level officials. Smart Defense will ensure security for all NATO allies Thursday, January 19, Vilnius – President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to discuss cooperation in the Alliance and the development of military security. The President underlined that Lithuania’s assignment to the responsible task of chairing NATO’s Civilian Intelligence Committee this [...]

On 19 January in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis took part in a meeting of Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The head of NATO secretariat, who pays an official visit to Lithuania, also met with the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and the leaders of Lithuanian Seimas. During the meetings current issues of NATO collective defense policy and NATO air policing mission, which is of special importance for Lithuania, as [...]

This week Lithuanian delegation headed by Minister of Transport and Communications, Eligijus Masiulis, is visiting the United States of America. During the visit the delegation will meet government officials and business representatives regarding the cooperation of Lithuanian and US seaports, transit of NATO cargo and possible participation of US companies in the construction of Klaipėda deep-water seaport. “The main purpose of our visit – to increase US and NATO cargo flows at Klaipėda Seaport. Last year we have already hosted [...]

Answering to militarization of neighbouring countries, Lithuania is going to take active part in development of NATO strategy, says Dalia Grybauskaite, president of the state. «We see that around Lithuania, especially – in Kaliningrad Oblast – armed forces are concentrating,» – with reference to Žinių radijаs words of the President are quoted by Delfi.lt. «Therefore plans of our protection within NATO, intentions to talk again about antimissile protection and possible cooperation with neighbouring countries within NATO, that all means that [...]

“It is difficult to be an optimist when listening to news coming from the euro zone but Lithuania is ready for challenges,” Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius announced after the US ratings agency Standard & Poors slashed ratings of some European states. “The news coming from the euro zone do not let us be more optimistic about the year 2012 for the meantime. However, I would also like to remind that we have approved the 2012 budget with the deficit of [...]

On January 12 Minister of National Defence Rasa Juknevičienė and Chief of Defense Lt Gen Arvydas Pocius paid tribute to the victims of the January 13, 1991, events by taking part in a formal formation of the freedom defenders of 1990-1991 in the Seimas, later they attended the ceremonies of making a bonfire and laying flowers at the Television Tower, Lithuanian National Radio and Television Building, the memorial stone for the volunteer Artūras Sakalauskas. On January 13 leadership of the [...]

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis regrets Russia’s refusal to question former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev to ascertain the facts of the criminal case concerning the events of January 13, 1991. The neighboring country has decided to provide such an answer exactly on the eve of January 13. “However, this decision does not surprise us too much, because so far Russia has not evaluated the crimes of the totalitarian Communist regime committed against its own citizens,” [...]

On January 6, Friday, Minister of National Defense Rasa Juknevičienė discussed points of regional security and prospects of the Baltic Air Policing mission in a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns at the US Department of Defense. Apart from that, the meeting defense authorities addressed the new list of US defense and security priorities announced by US President and Secretary of Defense several days ago that encompass a shift of focus on the Asian Pacific Region and modulations [...]

The United States of America remains the key guarantee of security and stability in Europe, especially in the Baltic Region, as it was stated by the Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Rasa Juknevičienė on Wednesday during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Leon Edward Panetta in Washington. The meeting officials agreed that USA would maintain its commitments to security in the Baltic Region and foresee more participation in military exercises, more support to the NATO’s Air Policing mission and [...]

During her visit in Chicago (USA) on Thursday Minister of National Defence Rasa Juknevičienė attended a round-table discussion with members of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCGA), met with representatives of the Chicago’s Lithuanian Community, honored the tomb of Gen P.Plechavičius and memory of pilots S. Darius and S. Girėnas. NATO is the key guarantee for Lithuania’s security In a discussion with the CCGA representatives Lithuanian Minister statited that despite the essential changes NATO has undergone during the latter [...]

Minister of National Defense Rasa Juknevičenė and a delegation from January 3 to January 8 will conduct a work visit in the United States of America (USA) where formal meetings with the new US Secretary of Defense Leon Edward Panetta and other top-ranking US defense officials will be arranged. It is the third National Defense Minister’s visit in the United States. The aim of the visit is to shed some light on the security situation in the Baltic region, and [...]