In his interview Azubalis notes that the secret documents about the war in Afghanistan that were leaked to the media and the press do not pose any danger to Lithuania’s security, even though he is convinced that the opponents of the United States and NATO will take this opportunity and use this circumstance against the United States and NATO. The foreign minister claims that Lithuania and Belarus are in the process of finding more and more common issues as far as their economic cooperation is concerned.  Azubalis says that Lithuania’s OSCE presidency next year will be a challenge for the country.

Many experts have been saying that the global and the European geopolitical situations are changing: The United States is paying less attention to the countries that used to receive tangible support before the “reset.” Russia, on the contrary, is strengthening its influence in the post-Soviet zone, and the EU is not acting in a sufficiently cohesive way. Does this situation give Lithuania more chances to accomplish its foreign policy goals, or does it, on the contrary, create more barriers?

Let us start with the Reset, which, I believe, the United States and Russia understand as an encouragement to cooperate on the issues on which they can cooperate. And because the reset helps deescalate tension in the region, this opens wider possibilities for Lithuania.

I would not say that the United States is paying less attention to Central Europe. There are many examples, such as US President Barack Obama’s dinner and Hillary Clinton’s “freedom tour” (to the countries of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus), her statement in Tbilisi, in which she clearly formulated the principles: that if there are things on which they do not agree, they engage in dialogue, and if there are things that they agree on, they use this circumstance to their benefit. I think that this is quite a pragmatic policy, and, considering the situation, Russia also seems to find it acceptable.

The fact that a moderate tone prevails in our relations with Russia, that we have meetings at the levels of presidents and prime ministers, that there has been a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission of Lithuania and Russia, over which I am presiding, that we are working on 16 agreements, and I hope that we will sign five-six of them this fall – all that gives positive impetus to our relations.

For example, my impressions of my first short meeting with my Russian colleague Lavrov are very good, despite the fact that the statements made [by Lavrov] after the meeting were made out of inertia and in the spirit of old days, and they did not reflect the content or the atmosphere of our conversation. Let us call them a misunderstanding.

In the statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which was published by the media and the press, Lavrov urged Lithuania “to give up the policy towards falsifying certain aspects of historical events of the 20th century.” What else did he say?

As a matter of fact, our conversation was open and friendly. It is good that we agreed not to make statements through the media and the press in the future. I think you will understand me if I stick to this agreement. By the way, my colleague Lavrov had mentioned this agreement at the very beginning of our meeting, and I agree with him on that.  Actually, we discussed everything, including energy issues and the forum of trust. Next year, we will celebra te the 20th anniversary of signing the Treaty on the Basics of the Lithuanian-Russian Intergovernmental Relations. We will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishing of Lithuanian Embassy in Moscow. We have agreed that both sides should make proposals on how to celebrate this anniversary. The same goes for the forum of trust.

We discussed energy issues, such as visa-free regime and cross-border regime, we discussed the agreements and our cooperation, we also discussed Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE, we discussed my visit as the chairman of the OSCE to Moscow next year, and we talked about the need to combat the spread of drugs.

I want to say that this is only the beginning, and this is a good beginning. It gives us a serious hope that we could move to a new quality level. And this is my answer to your question about the “reset.”

What does this new quality level mean for you?

Azubalis To put it mildly, the agreements (15-16 of them), had been gathering dust for years. And now we see some progress, we will soon be able to sign them, but we would like them to be merged into a package of documents. These are good signs. On the other hand, Lithuania’s position on key issues related to the development of democracy and territorial integrity of the states has not changed. But both sides do not see this as an obstacle to cooperation. Our cooperation is developing in the good direction; we can see this in the agricultural and transport areas of cooperation.

The Moscow Times writes that because of the changes in Russian foreign policy, relations between Moscow and the Baltic countries are as good as they have never been before. The Kremlin has understood that its former aggressive policy did not produce positive results. Do you agree with this opinion?

Azubalis The fact that we are engaged in dialogue, that we are preparing new agreements, that we have meetings, that our relations are gaining momentum, is encouraging. Time will show what happens next. In politics, just like in life, one cannot know what will happen tomorrow.  After I see that the certain, specific, practical issues are being solved, I will be able to answer this question without any hesitations. Now all we need to do is work.

We are getting ready for our chairmanship of the OSCE. And one of our priorities, on which we have reached understanding with Russia, can and should be the fight against the influx and the trafficking of narcotics. In this case we support Russia and Russia supports us. There are many issues on which we can cooperate sincerely and without any hypocrisy.

 When George Bush was US President, the country provided Lithuania and the other Baltic countries with unequivocal support. Now, however, one gets an impression that it is the United States that might need support, especially after the leak of the secret documents on the war in Afghanistan. Do you think this leak could create problems for Lithuania?

Any sensible person would see as negative the leak of any information that constitutes state secret. Very many documents have been leaked, and both the Foreign and the Defence Ministries are studying them.

Prima facie, these documents do not pose any threat to Lithuania’s national security.  Moreover, we know that the US Administration has said that these documents do not pose a threat to the security in the region, in Afghanistan, in the United States, or elsewhere.

 But political scientists have already noted the possible negative consequences – anti-American sentiment and escalation of the demands to review the attitude towards Lithuania’s presence in Afghanistan. Do you see these risks?

 I think that if somebody wants to use the situation, he always will do that and will speak against NATO, against the activities of the United States in one or another region, this is what usually happens. We should accept that. Somebody will perhaps make a film.

Not long ago, I visited Afghanistan, where I participated in the Kabul Conference. The document that was adopted at the conference, the speech by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the speeches by the participants in the conference, and the final communiqué that details what the (Afghan) government is supposed to do within six, three, or 12 months, gives us hope that the country could reach a turning point, that the situation is not as bad as presented by the media and the press.

The Kabul Conference was not a meeting of politicians who spoke about nothing, something that happens sometimes. A constructive document was adopted, the government was asked to fight corruption, standards for the evaluation of each project were established, the government pledged to reduce corruption in specified areas. For example, if somebody wins a public tender, international experts should then evaluate the situation; there should be so-called audit and other aspects. This means that the current government is ready to take into consideration the comments made by those who are present in Afghanistan. I think this deserves our attention.

But in the situation when the United States is facing problems that it needs to solve immediately, is Lithuania capable of building its relations with Russia exclusively in the framework of the EU, can it do that on its own?

 My attitude towards relations with Russia is simple. We should take into consideration that we are a member of the EU. And relations with Russia, be it the issue of visas or trade, should be solved in the framework of the agreements signed by the EU and Russia. This is the Alpha and the Omega of our relations.

I personally believe, and I think that the government agrees with me on that, that Lithuania and the other countries only benefit from the community-based approach since we are members of the EU. Lithuania is building its relations with Russia as a member of the EU, and Lithuania always takes Europe’s opinion into consideration as far as relations with Russia are concerned.

Russia is trying to ensure support of Germany, France, Finland, and Spain in solving the issue of visa-free regime with the EU.

In the meantime, Russia has not done much to advance the construction of the Nida-Rybachiy passport control point; the handling capacity of the Chernyshevskoe-Kybartai on the Russian side is not the same as that on the Lithuanian side. And this is something that could help Russians develop bigger traffic capacity.

 Russia wants its citizens to travel without visas. Yes, we need to discuss this issue, and nobody is against such plans, but the homework should be done and preparations should be made. We know how much Lithuania had to do before joining the Schengen zone. This was a difficult task. And the visa-free regime means that because of the Schengen zone, Russians would be able to get into our bedroom, so to say. Both the state and the people think that this is a sensitive issue. And this is why we have said that we should start with small projects and see how it works, and only then go further.

On the other hand, the fact that we already have a list of measures that both sides need to adopt gives us hope that, after some time, Russia will achieve something that Ukraine, the Caucasian countries, and Moldova are trying to achieve. And this is absolutely justified; we are negotiating with these countries also in the framework of the EU, and we are moving in that direction. The world is getting more mobile, this is normal, and this is why I do not see any politics in that. The only thing important is security and commitments, because the fact that the world has become more mobile does not mean that it has become more secure.

We and the EU should have a responsible attitude towards our security. Russia is eager to protect its own security.

In your opinion, who is better prepared for visa-free regime, Russia or Ukraine?

 All I can say is that Ukraine started the preparatory work earlier, and it is moving forward. Russia started this work only recently. I would rather not compare these two countries because the processes did not start at the same time. Both countries are responsible for their own progress. There cannot be any matrix that we could use to compare the progress of these two countries. Each country should be evaluated separately, depending on its progress.

Lukashenka and Belarus

 Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is called in Europe “the last dictator” and in Russia “a godfather.” How is he perceived in Lithuania?

 I can tell you this: For Lithuania it is not Lukashenka that is important. For us Belarus is important because this country and these people had been part of the Great Duchy of Lithuania for a long time. This shows that the people of Belarus and Lithuania have a common history, and it is obvious that we need to have economic cooperation. And we need to develop our cooperation.

But there is also the other Belarus, and the issues that are important here are human rights and democracy. For Lithuania, as a member of the EU, these things are important because Lithuania understands that only values can create the foundation for economic cooperation, and not the other way round.

And this is why I always say: There are two paths, two parallel paths that go in the same direction. There is the official Minsk and there is the democratic opposition. We have to support the democratic opposition, and I believe that we are doing just that.

Our goal is to connect these two paths, so that there is no dividing line between them.

There is a media war between Russia and Belarus at the moment, and the situation is strained. One gets an impression that Lithuania understands the need to pay a special, more careful attention to Belarus. Does the EU understand that?

The answer is simple: Lithuania is interested in independent and democratic Belarus; we want it to be just like the rest of the independent democratic countries. This is what the EU Eastern Policy is, and that sums it up. And the fact that there have been more visits lately at the governmental level shows that we find more and more common issues in our economic cooperation. And this is good.

If Belarus has its own ideas about the creation of an alternative, we are obliged to consider such ideas. If there is something positive in that for both sides, why not.

 But do not you get an impression that Lithuania is using the situation: Russia is exerting pressure on Belarus, which gives us a possibility of profiting from that. Will it not scare away the Belarusian opposition? It has gained access to the Russian media and press.

 I will repeat: There is no universal matrix for all countries. I assume that the Belarusian opposition and its representatives are well aware where their possibilities of creating a democratic Belarus lie. And Lithuania is certainly not using any circumstances, because I believe that the goals of Lithuanian policy do not have anything to do with the use of one or another tension in the neighbouring countries.

We understand one simple thing: It is irresponsible to play such games, and such behaviour could cost us dearly. We have always supported equal relations with our neighbours, and such relations should be based on respect. Perhaps it sounds boring, but you know, you can use your neighbour once, you would not be able to do that twice.

We should be as open with our neighbours as possible, we should respect our neighbours and behave with them as equals, only then can we win.

Let us look back: All these overtures, all the attempts to conclude an alliance immediately, all these deceits – these were short-lived victories, and such victories do not usually bring stable positive changes. It is only fitting to live with one’s neighbours in a dignified and respectable relationship.

I believe that Lithuania is behaving in a dignified way in this case, because it sometimes tells the neighbours the unpleasant things. I think this is the right way. We speak our mind, and we cooperate where we can.

Chairmanship of the OSCE Is a Challenge for Entire Country

 Lithuania will preside over the OSCE next year. What priorities does Lithuania have and how they could help solve the issues important for Lithuania?

The first priority is to perform the duties of the presidency well. The presiding official is not somebody who allows or does not allow the others to speak, because everybody is equal in this organization.

The presiding official listens to the opinions of the 56 member states of this organization and tries to moderate dialogue and seek compromise because the OSCE is an organization whose work is based on compromise and consensus.

We will cover human rights. We should take into consideration what Belgium was trying to achieve when it was presiding over the OSCE – freedom of the media and the press and the security of journalists. This is very important. The freedom of journalists guarantees or can guarantee a healthy society.

I think we should try to create a mechanism for crisis prevention, something that does not exist at the moment. We saw how the OSCE reacted after the situation in Kyrgyzstan even though there were signals. I believe that one of Lithuania’s tasks as president of the OSCE is to create such a mechanism that the presiding country should react immediately, bypassing the bureaucratic procedures created by this organization.  If we manage to bring the discussion to some more definite stage of implementation, that would be a big achievement.

There are issues that we will inherit. These are frozen conflicts. We will do our best to achieve a breakthrough in the positive direction.

Do you have in mind the conflict in Georgia?

 There is the EU position. There is nothing new here. We will not surprise anybody. We believe that the territorial integrity of Georgia should be restored. How and by what means is another question.

The preparation for the chairmanship gave Lithuania a possibility of getting closer to Kazakhstan, which is currently presiding over the OSCE. Has this happened?

We will soon see whether it has. I have good relations with my Kazakh colleague; we have discussed a number of questions. During this time, we have had 12 bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus. As a future OSCE chairman, I am trying to understand what is important for these countries, so that I can prepare for that and start communication. We need to have consultations first so that we can secure the support for our agenda.

We will have the elections of the chairman of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. This is the main bureau for human rights, the main observer of elections. During our presidency, elections of the OSCE general secretary will take place. It is quite difficult to moderate and to coordinate the candidacy issues. And there will be elections in our neighbourhood – in Belarus and Russia. We should ensure the continuity and we should honour the traditions of the organization, so that the elections are evaluated in the most fair and objective way. But the main role here belongs to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

The workload is huge. A special department has been created in the Foreign Ministry, of course, at the cost of our inner resources. We have expanded our representation in Vienna, and we are preparing for the task very actively. The first seminar on energy security in the framework of the OSCE will take place in September.

But this is not a challenge for Foreign Minister Azubalis; this is a challenge for entire country. The prestige and the trust in Lithuania as an international partner and a country that is capable of playing an important role in the international arena will depend on how we preside over the organization.

The students of Vilnius University, the largest higher education institution in the country, organised the annual Students‘ and Teachers‘ Parade through the central Gedimino prospect.

Shouting and bringing colourful canvases, a few thousands of freshmen went down the prospect towards the Central Palace of the university together with the leaders of their faculties.

The rector of the university Benediktas Juodka was the first figure in the parade.

In the evening, the traditional concert in Vingio park took place. Thousands of schoolchildren and students gathered to listen to the most popular Lithuanian bands and to celebrate the beginning of the new school year.

According to the tradition, all schools and universities start the academic year on Sept. 1st. Festivities are held on this date, and the lessons begin on the next working day.

According to the law, selling alcohol is prohibited on this day. However, drinks are still available in bars, clubs and restaurants.

A doctor by profession and very well read on eastern European history, including Lithuania’s, he had been convinced by Swedish media that Ignalina was a Chernobyl accident just waiting to happen. The fact it hadn’t melted down and created mutant Vytautai and Doviles is just chance, he said.

On the other side of the Baltic sea in Lithuania people believe that the plant would have been able to stay open for much longer. I had been told by those in the industry that the plant had been given safety stamps that would see it operational for at least the next five years.

Lithuanians were very happy for the plant to keep running in fact. It was giving them cheap and dependable energy. Since the European Union forced Lithuania to shut its only nuclear power plant down, it has seen heating and electricity prices rise. Also, there is now the possibility that the gas supply, which fires all of the country’s energy needs, could be shut off suddenly.

Swedes all consider themselves safe now because Chernobyl v2.0 has been averted, but what is happening on the other side of the Baltic sea is totally different.

What is interesting about all this is that two completely different stories about the same issue are circulating in the west and in the east.

It makes you wonder about how controlled the information that comes out of government agencies is.We know that some unscrupulous journalists like to twist facts, omit and even lie, but in a situation like this all the information comes from one place — the governments.

There were reasons to shut down the plant, safety being one of them, but there were also reasons to keep it open.

The thing is that we have two different countries that have two different versions of the same story.

When we make decisions in democratic nations, we need the right information to be able to act and cast our vote on decisions that really matter to us.

Either way you look at it, the Ignalina nuclear power plant a difficult issue. Keep it open and it could meltdown, some say. On the other hand shutting it down has led to total dependency on Russia for energy, a situation that Lithuania isn’t comfortable with.

What the people need in tough times like these is the full story, so they can make informed decisions. It is the least that the public deserve in democratic nations.

At the meeting, Minister A.Ažubalis welcomed successfully advancing bilateral and regional cooperation, and invited the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague to visit Lithuania.

“We are glad to observe an increasing involvement of the United Kingdom in the Baltic Sea region. Lithuania and the United Kingdom are united by common values and positions on many issues of the EU, NATO, energy security and the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

The development of bilateral economic relations received considerable attention at the meeting. The Ministers agreed in principle to organize the UK-Lithuanian business forum in 2011. The forum would allow for establishing new business contacts and presenting investment opportunities in both countries, especially focusing on investments in the high-tech sector.

When speaking about the issues on the EU agenda, the Ministers discussed possibilities for efficiency enhancement of the EU’s institutional co-operation, also stressed the significance of effective common EU’s internal and external energy policy and regional energy transmission links that promote alternative energy supply.

Minister D.Lidington thanked Lithuania for its dynamic activities in Afghanistan. When speaking about NATO’s role in the future, the Ministers stressed the importance to consolidate the provisions of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty in NATO’s new Strategic Concept.

The Ministers discussed situation in Georgia, emphasizing the necessity to continue supporting Georgia’s territorial integrity, stability and democracy in the region, and to make efforts of the international community aiming at the regulation of the Georgia-Russia conflict. Ministers A.Ažubalis and D.Lidington voiced a united position on closer EU cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. According to Minister A.Ažubalis, pragmatic relations with Russia also have to be based on values.

The Ministers agreed to actively cooperate as Lithuania is preparing to chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2011. Minister D.Lidington promised political support of the United Kingdom during Lithuania’s chairmanship.

Minister D.Lidington is the first member of the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government, formed after the parliamentary elections in May 2010 in the United Kingdom, who is paying a visit to a Baltic State.

Minister D.Lidington is responsible not just for the EU policy, but also for Eastern Neighbourhood, NATO and the OSCE issues.

“Lithuania continues to support successful implementation of structural political and economic reforms in Georgia. Lithuania is ready to share its euro-integration experience with your country. Joint projects that promote cooperation in specific economic areas would strengthen Lithuanian-Georgian relations and would also contribute to advancing European standards and norms in Georgia,” President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

The President underlined that despite the significant progress in carrying out fundamental reforms and moving towards market liberalization, Georgia should make more efforts to enhance its administrative capacities. Only a breakthrough in this area will pave the way for the free trade agreement with the European Union.

The President also stressed the need to strengthen bilateral economic relations. According to the President, closer cooperation among Lithuanian and Georgian businesspeople would open up new trade and business opportunities for the business communities of the two countries.

Algis Griškevičius – a famous contemporary artist, covering more than one artistic area.

“The works of artist A.Griškevičius fit into the traditional boundaries of painting, yet express the spiritual condition of man. Past, eccepted values and connection of current anxiety. In plastic measure area creation work conform to the standarts of contemporary art, enriching the discoveries of the postmodernist period.” (art critic Aldona Dapkutė).

“Algis Griškevičius amazing works of the imagination soaring, delicate love of detail and specific sense of space, illusory XX age-specific capture and meaningful reflection. His landscapes and figural composition of the present sensation is in line with the sentimental point of view of the past, his paintings in an area surrounded by the poetic vision of the veil is always filled with theatrical grotesque. Irony and several layers of meanings – from post-modernism, and classical art, the rules of the past”. (Doc. dr. Nijole Tumėnienė).

“Artist awarded penetration glance. Early in finding a distinctive manner of painting, the author is the imaginative landscape artist, in his work combines naturalistic, hipperrealistic and surrealistic painting elements. Artist evades and figurative compositions, all with static monumentality and narrative overtones. Searching for new forms of artistic expression, appropriate paradoxical ideas, Griškevičius resort photography. Photos even more striking naturalism and symbolism account of its alleged or real opposition, a shocking contrast of surreal, which hopes to stun the audience and reveal the unusual combination of elements. It seems that the authors are attracted by the opportunities of postmodern thinking, which is a creative exercise“ (Algis Uždavinys).

Algis both painting and photography comes from an language image- concentrated literary links and content-filled images. What and how they relate mainly depends on the situation. Nevertheless  <..> the world in them, “retransmitted” humanistic, existential and valuable channels. Although it often appears that the aspect in which artist is staring sarcastic, however it is only half the truth. Much more like that it lingers among us as inscrutable Čeršyro cat smile” (Austėja Čepauskaitė).

Creative Biography
Algis Griškevičius was born on 1954 in Vilnius.
Finished school in 1973. The same year he went to army till 1975.
Worked as artist’s assistant in Opera and Ballet House from 1976 to 1980.
Studied at Vilnius Art Institute (now Academy) from 1980 to 1985.
At the same time worked as senior artist – scene painter in Vilnius Youth Theatre from 1980 to 1990. Working as a freelance artist from 1990.
Participating in exhibitions from 1986.
Member of Lithuanian Artists Association from 1988.
Arranged 47 personal exhibition in Lithuania and abroad.

“

His works have been acquired by
- Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania
- M.K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Ethnographic Museum of Alytus, Lithuania
- Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Tretyakov Art Gallery, Moscow, Russia
- Museum of Fine Arts, Yekaterinburg, Russia
- The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum New Jersey, USA
- European Parliament Brussels
- Art collectors in various countries

‘If we cannot fulfil our obligations, we cannot pay social benefits, we have frozen or cut pensions and promise to start paying them again only in 2012, then any calls of one sphere to increase spending are improper,’ said Grybauskaite to journalists on 1 September.  President was frank, ‘the crisis continues. And it means that there can be no privileges.’

On a press conference on 31 August, Rasa Jukneviciene, the Minister of Defence, calculated that only culture is less financed in Lithuania than defence.  The Ministry has calculated that an average Lithuanian per year spends more on alcohol than on defence and issued a warning that at the current rate Lithuania wont be able to keep its NATO obligations.  The defence spending has dropped to the levels of 2004 but the military obligations has increased.

During the press conference the Minister warned that the Lithuania’s mission to Afghanistan is at stake.  She said, ‘I am not aware how much the decision not to participate in the Afghanistan mission would cost to such a small NATO member as Lithuania, where the Alliance has an air-policing mission. In my opinion, it would be a political disaster, as in this situation NATO obligations to Lithuania would be reviewed, as well.’

In 2010 Lithuania, NATO member, allocated some 988 million Litas to defence, which accounted to only 0.9 per cent of countries GDP.  A NATO member state is obliged to allocate 2 per cent of their GDP.

Perhaps a year ago President Dalia Grybauskaite was fostering certain seedlings of love towards Russia, but now those seedlings are completely gone, says Stasys Gudavicius. They have been eradicated by a renewed freeze in the bilateral relations.

This freeze is not new. It simply got renewed after last year’s real or imagined thaw in the bilateral relations between Lithuania and Russia.  However, the fact that the thaw was so brief and the fact that it was barely felt allows one to think that it was merely imagined, not real, and probably was determined by Russia’s hope to find a new friend in the person of Grybauskaite. Of course, the Lithuanian president too made some statements and took some actions fuelling pragmatism in the foreign policy related to the big Eastern neighbour.

The illusion of the thaw burst, however. Perhaps this was not too visible, because diplomacy is pretty secretive, not overly public, thing. The fact of the matter, however, is this: The relations with Moscow have returned to the stage they were in a year, two years, or even more years ago, when President Valdas Adamkus and his team were responsible for Lithuania’s foreign policy.

This year, Gudavicius reminds, together with some other countries, Lithuania blocked the EU talks with Russia over a visa-free travel regime. Russia increasingly stronger criticizes Lithuania for its supposed attempts to distort history, for alleged resurrection of neo-Nazism, for condemnation of the Soviet past, and for saying the years between 1944 and 1945 were not liberation but a continuation of the occupation.

In the diplomacy of visits there are no great achievements either.   Grybauskaite met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius spoke with Putin in Moscow. However, have there been any palpable results after these meetings?

One probably should not expect them after the Lithuanian president’s planned trip to Russia either, Gudavicius is convinced.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did not come to the 20th anniversary of 11 March, and Grybauskaite rejected the invitation to come to Moscow on 9 May to the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazism. Putin also did notshow up in Vilnius for the meeting of the Baltic Sea region’s leaders in June.

The suspects in the 13 January case and in the Medininkai case, who are hiding in Russia, have not been extradited to Lithuania, even though Vilnius tries to cooperate with the Russians in solving issues of terrorism prevention, which was proven by the Egle Kusaite case.

Probably everyone is convinced that under such conditions it is impossible to talk about a thaw in the bilateral relations. At best, one can merely talk about retaining certain status quo – we continue to smile to one another, but we do not abandon our value-based positions that we have held for a dozen-or-so years.

According to reliable sources, the desire of Grybauskaite, the main architect of the Lithuanian foreign policy, to have better relations with Russia got cold when in the beginning of the year Moscow presented certain confidential proposals to Lithuania, which probably were related to economy or energy.

Probably only the president and a small portion of our diplomats know what sort of proposals were made. In any case, in those proposals Grybauskaite saw deceit and Moscow’s desire to turn Lithuania into its satellite. This is something the president simply cannot allow to happen, no matter how strongly she wants to have better relations with Russia.

The head of state was also disappointed by the Washington administration’s desire to “restart” the ties with the Russians. To “restart” them by seemingly sacrificing the interests of certain countries, including Lithuania.

Therefore, there are no positive changes in the relations with Russia, and probably will not be in the near future, Gudavicius concludes.

Economists write about countries and companies relying on export to lead them out of the recession. When domestic consumption is weak, the plan is for a country’s companies to expand production by selling to foreign markets. Estonia is no different, and economics minister Juhan Parts, has called for export, as have the country’s president and prime minister.

Hillar Lauri is president of SMIS International OÜ, a company whose software marries IT and radiology. From 1993 to 1995, he was the Manager of the World Bank’s office in Tallinn, followed by six years of working for a NYSE listed energy company. He recently finished his year long assignment establishing an export program to Sweden for Falkonet Metall OÜ.

Top Lithuanian leaders and officials have been consistently pursuing a policy of strong support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and its aspirations for the Euro-Atlantic integration. “Lithuania’s support for the fundamental values remains firm and steadfast. This visit of the Georgian delegation led by the Prime Minister shows that we have been moving towards closer economic ties through our intense political cooperation”, said Prime Minister Kubilius.

The meetings with Georgian Prime Minister Gilauri will discuss issues of energy security, bilateral trade and economic cooperation, as well as prospects for bilateral investment development. Lithuania is going to propose Georgia to more actively take advantage of the opportunities offered by the shuttle container train “Viking”, and to cooperate in the development of international transport and energy corridors. Discussions will also focus on the current development cooperation projects and cooperation in the areas of defence, customs, tourism, agriculture, etc.

According to Statistics Lithuania, Georgia ranked 52 in terms of trade turnover, and was 42 and 51 in terms of exports and imports respectively among 169 foreign trade partners of Lithuania in the first six months of 2010. Turnover of goods with Georgia rose by 51.8% against the same period in 2009. Georgian direct investments in Lithuania totalled 8.2 million Litas on 1 April 2010, while Lithuanian direct investments in Georgia made up 35.2 million Litas.

In 2010, 16 development cooperation projects worth 657,000 Litas are to be implemented in Georgia. In 2009, 22 projects worth 804,000 Litas were implemented in the areas of regional cooperation and consolidation, children’s rights, health care, and democratic society.

On 3 September a meeting between Georgian and Lithuanian business community representatives is to take place at the Office of the Government. During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Georgia is going to deliver a presentation “Business Opportunities in Georgia”.