Foreign minister questions visa-free regime

  • 2008-01-09
  • By Mike Collier

VILNIUS -- Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas hasquestioned whether the establishment of a visa-free regime with the United States mightcause more problems than it solves.

"Do we really need this?" Vaitiekunas asked journalistsduring a briefing, according to website delfi.lt, before suggesting that enhancedease of travel might increase the already significant number of Lithuaniansleaving the country to seek a future elsewhere.

However, the minister quickly backtracked whenreporters asked how this was reflected in government policy, assuring  everyone that his ministry was activelypursuing a visa-free agreement with the U.S.