Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite has found a perfect excuse to avoid travelling to Moscow on 9 May, when the Russians will celebrate 65 anniversary of the end of the World War Two.  She will invite the Russia’s President Medvedev to celebrate 20 th anniversary of Lithuania’s Independence on 11 March instead.  It is very likely that the Russian President will decline this invitation.

Since Christmas the Lithuanian media is speculating if Grybauskaite would have gone to the 9 May celebrations in Moscow if she had received an invitation from the Russia’s President Medvedev.  The Russian agency Regnum yesterday informed that the Russian President Medvedev will not send any invitations and is expecting the high guests to attend the celebrations on their own accord.  However, when yesterday Grybauskaite was asked about her intentions on 9 May she switched to an idea of inviting the Presidents of all surrounding countries to celebrate Lithuania’s Independence 20 anniversary on March 11.  That is including the President Medvedev.

Grybauskaite said to the Public Radio, “As the president I will surely invite all European Union (EU) presidents that can make it, and, I’m giving serious thought to inviting presidents of neighbouring states, not party to the EU bloc”.

Today, on 13 January the President confirmed her plans of inviting Russia’s President Medvedev to attend events to mark 20 years of Lithuania’s independence on 11 March this year.  Grybauskaite said to the reporters “We will invite all presidents of Europe and presidents of neighbouring states”.  When asked again if she would consider going to Moscow on 9 May Grybauskaite replied, ‘Let us wait for the 11 March.’  She also added that by inviting President Medvedev ‘I want to know whether Lithuania is important to our neighbours, and if Lithuania’s  twenty year of independence is important to our neighbours’.

Prof. Vytautas Landsbergis, Member of the European Parliament and de facto head of the Lithuania during the independence restoration period reacted positively to Grybauskaite’s initiative of inviting Medvedev and said to BNS, “Why shouldn’t we invite the leader of such important country to this very important event? Imagine inviting presidents of other countries, except of Russia. How would this look like?”

Political scientist Gediminas Vitkus on the other hand is less optimistic about Grybauskaite’s intention.  He said BNS, “Russia never demonstrated big respect to Lithuania, and now sending its president would all of a sudden change its position. It seems to me that Russia has no respect to our independence and our state – it only maintains minimum diplomatic relations, which were never warm or friendly.  I would be really surprised if he (Medvedev) came”.

If the President Medvedev will not come to Lithuania to celebrate anniversary of its Independence it is very likely that Grybauskaite would do the same for 9 May.  The President Adamkus refused to go to Moscow in 9 May 2005.