MP says strikes on Iran could benefit Lithuania by weakening Tehran's support for Russia

VILNIUS - US and Israeli strikes on Iran could weaken Tehran’s support for Russia and be beneficial for Lithuania, Remigijus Motuzas, chair of the Lithuanian parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, said on Monday.

“Lithuania is far away, but we strongly support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, so the benefit is that Iran’s assistance to Russia may weaken. In fact, there might be less of that assistance. We saw that the main supporter of Russia’s war against Ukraine was Iran,” Motuzas told reporters.

Tehran has been one of Russia’s closest allies throughout Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, and the Kremlin had previously urged against escalating the situation in the Middle East.

Asked whether Lithuania supports US actions, Motuzas said that Vilnius should advocate for the overthrow of undemocratic regimes.

“We always support in the sense that regimes must indeed be overthrown. The regime has existed for almost 40 years, and we always advocate for democracy, against authoritarian regimes,” the MP said.

He added that the EU should pay greater attention to the humanitarian aspect of the crisis. Lithuanian parliamentarian also confirmed that he would be attending a security conference in Cyprus on Tuesday.

“As we know, Oman, Cyprus, and other states were also shelled. We advocate for their territorial sovereignty, independence, and also for humanitarian aid in any case,” Motuzas said.