Yesterday, after signing a strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia, US President Barack Obama met in Prague with the leaders of 11 Eastern European countries. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite refused to travel to Prague and sent Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius in her place. The reasons for this decision were revealed to parliamentarians by Presidential Adviser on Foreign Policy Darius Semaška. Mrs. President was offended because she did not receive an invitation from Obama to meet face to face. She did not like that the meeting was prepared by low-ranking officials. In addition, she suspected that they were trying to put Lithuania on the same level as “poor and offended” states, which the United States was trying to console with gestures of exceptional attention. Moreover, the president did not like the fact that during the two-hour dinner, each of the guests would be given only a couple of minutes to speak.
The newspaper Lietuvos Rytas, which reported this, noted that the meeting between the adviser and parliamentarians was held in great secrecy. At the same time, many members of the parliamentary committee fear the negative impact of the presidential decision on relations between Vilnius and Washington. However, even before taking office, Ms. Grybauskaite stated that she does not like executive travel and prefers bilateral meetings with practical content. This is exactly how she motivated her refusal of an invitation to the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. Vladimir SKRIPOV, Vilnius | 