Lithuania respects, supports Spain's territorial integrity

VILNIUS – Lithuania respects and supports Spain's territorial integrity and sovereignty, the country's Foreign Ministry said in response to independence declaration by Spain's autonomous region Catalonia.

"Lithuania and Spain are bound by friendly bilateral relations. Spain is an important ally of Lithuania both in the European Union and NATO," the ministry said in a press release published on Saturday.

At the same time, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry called upon Spain's government and institutions "to seek a constitutional solution through constructive dialogue in compliance with its national legislation."

Catalonia's parliament on Friday declared independence from Spain, while Madrid decided to introduce direct governance in the autonomous region.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius called for dialogue in solving the crisis over the Catalan independence declaration as a confrontational path will mean riots and victims.

"Apparently, possibilities of dialogue have not been exhausted and a constitutional solution needs to be found. What we see now is a conflict or even a head-on collision of decisions. We do hope that this will not escalate into physical confrontation and violence," he told the national radio LRT.