PM's visit to Israel 'did more harm than good' to Lithuania, president says

VILNIUS - Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis' recent trip to Israel, which did not include visiting Palestinian territories, "did more harm than good" to Lithuania, President Dalia Grybauskaite said. 

"This visit to Israel drew mixed reactions from the international community and foreign media. Therefore, (it) did more harm than good," she said in a comment forwarded by her press service to BNS.   

Tomas Berzinskas, the prime minister’s spokesman, said Skvernelis focuses on the content rather than on the form during his foreign visits, seeking to achieve concrete results and benefit for Lithuania. 

"What causes far greater and long-term harm to Lithuania is single-person decisions, possibly made to please the leaders of individual countries and resulting in turning away from our key strategic partner, the United States of America, when voting in the United Nations," he told BNS.