Lithuanian PM sacks adviser who lost political confidence

VILNIUS – Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis on Friday sacked his adviser for energy and environmental matters, Tomas Garasimavicius, who had lost his political confidence.

"He has been discharged as having lost his political confidence," Tomas Berzinskas, the prime minister's spokesman, told BNS.

The spokesman not elaborate on the reasons for firing the adviser.

Garasimavicius told BNS later in the day that he was not aware of the reasons for his dismissal and that he had not spoken with Skvernelis about that.

"I don't know the reasons. I'm not going to speculate," he told BNS.

Garasimavicius has in the past worked as an energy adviser to the former Social Democratic Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius.

Earlier this week, Garasimavicius testified to the parliament's National Security and Defense Committee in the framework of the panel's probe of possible unlawful influence by individuals, business entities and other groups of interests upon state institutions and political processes.

Garasimavicius told the panel about his visit to the shutdown Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant as part of a Butkevicius-led delegation and a meeting with representatives of the Russian-owned German company Nukem and Russia's nuclear energy giant Rosatom.

The former adviser told BNS on Friday that his dismissal from Prime Minister Skvernelis' team could not be linked to the parliamentary probe and his testimony to the committee.

"Making such a link is absurd, ridiculous and defamatory. There's no link to some Rosatom, some visit or things like that," he said. 

Garasimavicius said that he had not been involved in any pre-trial investigations either.

"A lot of people are unhappy with my activities. I oversee a sector where there are many interests. Some people might be dissatisfied with my activities," the former advisor said.

"Ask the prime minister. Perhaps he'll explain," he added.