Vilnius Mayor Simasius doubts need for Moscow House Russian cultural centre in Lithuanian capital

  • 2015-07-07
  • From wire reports and TBT staff, VILNIUS

Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Simasius doubts the need for a Moscow House Russian cultural centre in the Lithuanian capital; a project implemented under previous mayor, Arturas Zuokas in 2004. 

"There are many question marks regarding the Moscow House,” Simasius told journalists on July 7, 2015, after a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Lithuania, Alexander Udaltsov. “Today there is a big question mark over the adequacy of the project, which was launched years ago.

"I'm not completely sure that it’s very good an all Lithuanian institution has given the green light to the Moscow House at every stage, taking into account the fact Moscow’s institutions have not given that green light to the Vilnius House in the Russian capital,” he said.

Lithuania’s Ambassador to Russia, Remigijus Motuzas, recently told news agency BNS, the construction of the Moscow House in Vilnius has progressed considerably.

According to Simasius, the Russian side wants the Moscow House to be finished by the middle of the next year.

"Whether it will happen or not is a separate question," he concluded.

The meeting with Udaltsov was overshadowed by Russia's actions in the geopolitical arena, Simasius added.

The idea to build a Moscow House in Vilnius emerged in July, 2004, when then-Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov attended the Statehood Day celebration in Vilnius.