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“It seems that our cooperation with Lithuania could be more active and multifaceted. Especially since we are known to be close neighbors.
We are ready to cooperate on the basis of the principles of good neighborliness and mutual respect. And I would like to see the same attitude from our Lithuanian colleagues, “said V. Putin during the ceremony for the presentation of the credentials of foreign ambassadors.
In recent years, relations between Vilnius and Moscow have become strained: President Dalia Grybauskaitė called Russia a “terrorist state”. Lithuania also gave its full support to Ukraine, which is being fought by Moscow-backed separatists in the east.
Russia, for its part, is criticizing the Baltic states for alleged violations of Russian ethnic rights.
Last year, Putin congratulated Gitana Nausėda on taking office.
However, six months later, the then-Russian ambassador to Lithuania, Alexander Udaltsov, assured Russian media that hopes of improving bilateral relations before the 2019 presidential elections had faded.
“Although at some point, I admit, there was hope when Lithuania’s presidential elections were held. Unfortunately, however, practice has shown that the new Lithuanian government has followed the path laid out by its predecessor, Dalia Grybauskaitė. The line anti-Russian has escalated. We regret this, “A. Udalcov told RIA Novosti in February.
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