Israel’s foreign minister compares Turkey to Iran

VILNIUS - On July 7-8, Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s foreign minister visited Lithuania. It was the first ever visit by an Israeli foreign minister to Lithuania. He talked with Lithuanian officials about Lithuania’s plan to compensate the Jewish community for its lost real estate, Israel’s international situation and mutual economic relations. Some harsh words were said by Liberman towards Turkey.

Liberman, speaking during his visit in Vilnius, said that direct Israeli-Palestinian talks can begin “in about September.” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis, during the joint press conference of both foreign ministers, read carefully from a piece of paper Lithuania’s position on the Middle East, which is the common position of all European Union member states. “Lithuania recognizes Israel’s legitimate security concerns and the country’s right to self-defense, and also urges Israel to comply with fundamental human rights provisions,” Azubalis stated.
Liberman said some harsh words towards Turkey, comparing it with Iran after the Islamic revolution when Iran’s foreign policy changed by 180 degrees.

In the 1990s, Ankara was a loyal supporter of Lithuania’s wish to join NATO (when Berlin and Paris were rather skeptical about the Baltics’ membership in NATO), and now Vilnius is a loyal supporter of Turkey’s wish to join the EU (while the main EU actors, Berlin and Paris, show their skepticism regarding EU membership perspectives for Turkey) – so, Azubalis preferred to speak more about Lithuanian-Israeli relations.

“Lithuania and Israel are linked by a special relationship which is determined by the history that the two nations shared for 700 years. Lithuania’s history is unimaginable without the history of the Jewish community, which was an integral part of Lithuanian society and contributed to the development of science, economy and culture,” Azubalis said during the joint press conference in Vilnius. In the past, Vilnius was an important center of Jewish culture and was called “Jerusalem of the North” or “Jerusalem of Lithuania” by Jews.

Now 4,000 Israeli tourists come to Lithuania every year. Azubalis said that this could be 5-10 times higher. He also emphasized the need to increase cooperation between high-tech companies of both countries.

On July 8, Liberman met with Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius. They discussed the Jewish community restitution issue, among other things. Lithuania plans to pay the Jewish community 128 million litas (37 million euros) as compensation for the pre-war Jewish community-owned real estate which the community lost during and after WWII. “It’s not a question of money,” Liberman said, pointing out that it is a moral issue to compensate the Holocaust victims. Liberman also visited the grave of President Algirdas Brazauskas who, in 1995, speaking in the Knesset, apologized for those Lithuanians who took part in the Holocaust.