On the visit to Cyprus on May 17-18, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vytautas Leškevičius participated in bilateral political consultations with officials from Cyprus to discuss the bilateral cooperation, key issues of the European Union and preparation for the Presidency of the EU Council.

On May 16 at the meeting with the U.S. historian Timothy Snyder in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis thanked the historian for perpetuating the historical memory of the crimes of the totalitarian regimes, which is significant to Lithuania and the entire Eastern Europe, and emphasized Lithuania’s active efforts to commemorate the memory of the victims of the atrocities of the 20th century.

On May 16 in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and new Canadian Ambassador to Lithuania John Morrison discussed bilateral relations, cooperation among Nordic countries and the NATO Summit that is due in Chicago next week.

On May 15 in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis met with German Minister of State Michael Georg Link to discuss Lithuania’s interests in negotiations on the next EU financial perspective and future Eastern Partnership policy.

Europeanization is the only rational alternative for Belarus and its people, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said at the workshop for young Belarusian leaders that was organized in Gratiškės, Trakai district, on May 14.

On May 14 in Brussels, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavičius called on the EU Foreign Ministers to seek engaging Ukraine into European processes, so that the confidence crisis would not be escalated.

On May 10, Lithuania’s Consul General in New York Valdemaras Sarapinas participated in the event, which was co-organised by the Consulate General in New York and the American Society of Yad Vashem. During the event, the titles of Righteous among the Nations were bestowed on Lithuanian citizen Bronė Budreikaitė (after death) and other eight persons for their efforts to save Jews.

The Baltic States must work together to defend their common interests – address energy security challenges and problems of transport isolation, develop a vision of the Eastern neighbourhood, aim at achieving a universal condemnation of crimes committed by the totalitarian regimes and to negotiate the EU budget together, because they can expect positive results only when speaking with one voice, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said.

The Baltic States, which have built their free society and current economic stability on the principle of solidarity and values of democracy, show an example for the entire EU that solidarity is a guarantee of long term sustainability and growth in political and economic terms, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis says.

On May 10 in Berlin, Lithuanian and German Ministers of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and Guido Westerwelle discussed the ways of strengthening the bilateral partnership, which would lead to closer political, economic and cultural ties between the countries and contribute to the European future.

Vilnius, May 14, 2012. Lithuania on Monday paid tribute to a student whose self-immolation 40 years ago sparked mass anti-Soviet protests in the Baltic state, an unwilling Soviet republic at the time.

Audronius Azubalis is not a happy man. As more and more EU leaders announce that they will boycott the European Football Championship in Ukraine because of the alleged ill treatment of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, Azubalis disagrees. As foreign minister of Lithuania, he took the opportunity of our interview to launch an urgent appeal to the EU to strengthen, not weaken, its ties to its Eastern neighbors.

Lithuania’s relations with Nordic countries go way back into centuries. The Baltic Sea always was crisscrossed by shipping routes widely travelled by adventurers and traders, in a long run creating a bond between the nations of shared values and similar traditions. This bond turned to be most precious in contemporary history during the last 20 years of transformation of our country into the modern democracy and economy during which we had a full support of our Nordic neighbours. The Nordic countries were the first ones to recognize the restored independence of Lithuania and the very first mission opened in Vilnius was the Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nordic countries had consistently supported political and economic reform process of the Baltic States since 1990’s. They were instrumental in our preparations to becoming members of the NATO and the European Union. During the last 20 years our cooperation has transformed into the partner and ally relationship.

A project entitled Two Centuries of Museums is kicking off in Lithuania this week, by which 87 museums across the country aim to become more open to the public.