Mar 03, 2010 - Grybauskaite urges to speed up lustration...
VILNIUS - On Feb. 24, President Dalia Grybauskaite met with members of the Lithuanian parliament’s Committee on National Security and Defense urging them to finish the lustration process as soon as possible. Lustration in Lithuania refers to the policy of disclosure of former KGB agents and informants, limiting their participation in civil service positions.
“The president propose...
Mar 03, 2010 - Discussing the sale of the Mistral...
VILNIUS - The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional Mediterranean wind blowing through southern France. Last week, its force was felt in Vilnius. On Feb. 24, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met with Pierre Lellouche, French secretary of state for European Affairs, in her presidential palace. One of the primary goals of the meeting was to consult and inform Lithuania, as a s...
Feb 24, 2010 - Interesting signals from the Kremlin...
VILNIUS - Last week, Russia’s president invited Estonian and Latvian presidents to watch the Russian military parade in Red Square in Moscow, on May 9. The Lithuanian president did not receive such an invitation and will go to Ireland on May 9. The Kremlin’s invitations to celebrate the end of WWII are very controversial in the Baltics due to the fact that the end of WWII did not br...
Feb 17, 2010 - Aftershocks from the Grybauskaite vs. Putin match...
VILNIUS - On Feb. 10, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The meeting was initiated by Putin. Grybauskaite is a former master of karate while Putin is a master of judo. This fact gave cartoonists and commentators material for jokes. It was the first meeting of Lithuanian and Russian leaders at such a high level since 2001, when President Valda...
Feb 10, 2010 - Prosecutor general resigns...
VILNIUS - On Feb. 5, Prosecutor General Algimantas Valantinas decided to quit his job. He decided not to stand in the way of an unruly mob. The resignation was announced after a street protest over the so-called pedophilia case, about which the majority of the population has no clue, and at the same time has decisive and fanatic judgment, which is being inspired by tabloidish media and populist...