LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH HIS AUSTRIAN COUNTERPART
Updated 2011-07-18
On 18 July during the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council and General Affairs Council meetings in Brussels, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis met with Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Spindelegger to discuss current situation.
During the conversation, Audronius Ažubalis informed his Austrian counterpart that Lithuania had recalled the Ambassador of Lithuania from Vienna for consultations in Vilnius and stressed that he expected to receive Austria’s answers to the questions that are raised in the note in a reasonably short time.
“The people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are shocked. We have paid a very big price for the restoration of Independence 20 years ago. The case of January 13 and the execution of justice are matters of national importance. Lithuania has no other choice but to mobilize all possible diplomatic and legal means to clarify the circumstances of the incident in order to be sure that this will never happen in the space of the European Union again. Lithuania must ensure that the European Union learns the lesson of the lack of solidarity,” A.Ažubalis said.
He once again stressed that Lithuania had not violated any procedural formalities. According to the Minister, it is impossible to understand why Lithuania was not informed about the arrest immediately and why they waited until the next day.
A.Ažubalis stressed that in Lithuania this issue was just as sensitive, as that of Ratko Mladić in the Balkans. According to the Minister, the ongoing civil initiatives on 18 July in Vilnius also show this.
During the conversation, Audronius Ažubalis informed his Austrian counterpart that Lithuania had recalled the Ambassador of Lithuania from Vienna for consultations in Vilnius and stressed that he expected to receive Austria’s answers to the questions that are raised in the note in a reasonably short time.
“The people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are shocked. We have paid a very big price for the restoration of Independence 20 years ago. The case of January 13 and the execution of justice are matters of national importance. Lithuania has no other choice but to mobilize all possible diplomatic and legal means to clarify the circumstances of the incident in order to be sure that this will never happen in the space of the European Union again. Lithuania must ensure that the European Union learns the lesson of the lack of solidarity,” A.Ažubalis said.
He once again stressed that Lithuania had not violated any procedural formalities. According to the Minister, it is impossible to understand why Lithuania was not informed about the arrest immediately and why they waited until the next day.
A.Ažubalis stressed that in Lithuania this issue was just as sensitive, as that of Ratko Mladić in the Balkans. According to the Minister, the ongoing civil initiatives on 18 July in Vilnius also show this.
