‘Lithuania and Russia is turning a new page in its relationship’ some of the Lithuanian commentators commented yesterday’s telephone conversation between Grybauskaite and Medvedev. The Russian President’s internet site has also stated that during the conversation ‘both sides expressed their desire and willingness to enter a new stage in their bilateral relations’. Since the Minister of Foreign affairs Mr Usackas assumed this post in January he was indicating that the Lithuanian and Russian relations should be more constrictive and pragmatic.

Knowing that this was a FIRST official conversation between the Lithuanian and Russian President’s in EIGHT years one could assume that this is a good start. The leaders should talk, especially if they are neighbouring countries and are not officially in the state of war. However, the Lithuanian top political figures are sending confusing messages. It takes two to dance tango, and when it comes to Lithuania there are three persons on the peak of the Lithuanian political establishment. No doubt the President being ‘number one’ there is also the number two and the number three.

Today the number two in the state, the Lithuanian Parliamentary Speaker Mr Arunas Valinskas was vocal in criticizing Russia’s motives behind the resent ban of the Lithuanian cargo carriers to Russia. He spilled the beans and stated that Russia has shoved Lithuanian carriers out of its transit market for political reasons.

On 19 August on the commercial news radio Ziniu radijas Mr Valinskas made a link behind Russia’s action to the resolution to compare Nazi and Stalinist crimes adopted in the Organization for Security and Cooperation Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) Vilnius session. The resolution was met with zealous criticism by the Russian Duma. The Speaker also saw another reason behind the ban which comes to Lithuania’s decision to decline entry to a controversial historian, renowned pro-Kremlin propagandist, chief editor of the regnum.ru Mr Modest Kolerov.

“We can draw assumption ourselves, I believe, and think you would back me on this, that it was a political decision to oust Lithuanian carriers from the Russian transit market,” Valinskas on said on radio.

The Seimas speaker feels this can be concluded also from Russia’s statements denying a possibly political tone of the decision.

Further more the speaker maintained that the “Sound reasoning would lead to a conclusion that this was a political decision on Russia’s part, which is indicated in Russia’s repeated argument – just don’t go thinking that this is a political decision, it is economic, of administrative nature, etc. If this is what Russia’s side is saying, then we can be sure almost 100 percent that this was a political decision handed down for implementation to the customs”.

During the interview Mr Valinskas was not satisfied with the deal reached between Lithuania-Russia customs last week and stated that the deal was detrimental to Lithuanian carriers. According to him the 29 blacklisted carrier companies, which will be subject to tighter customs procedures, carry out approximately 70 percent of Lithuania’s transit to the Russian market.

As commentator Sualius Spurga pointed out today in Lietuvos Zinios Lithuanian top political establishment lack coordination when it comes to the Foreign Policy. The Prime Minister Kubilius, who is the number three in Lithuania last week has also mentioned that Russia has political motives behind the ban of the carriers from Russia.

However, according to the Lithuanian constitution’s Article 84 the President of Lithuania
1) shall decide the basic issues of foreign policy and, together with the Government, conduct foreign policy