Russia’s ambassador to Vilnius will be forced to leave Lithuania, and Lithuania’s ambassador to Moscow will be recalled, Baltic Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters today.
“In response to Russia’s persistent aggressive actions in Ukraine, the Lithuanian government has decided to reduce the status of the diplomatic mission. Russia’s ambassador will have to leave Lithuania,” he said, adding that the Lithuanian ambassador to Moscow would return to Vilnius in the near future.
According to the government’s decision, the Russian Consulate General in Klaipeda will be closed.
According to Landsbergis, Vilnius informed about the decision of its partners in the European Union and NATO. “We invited our partners to follow our example,” he said.
According to another decision of the Lithuanian Cabinet of Ministers, the country’s ambassador to Ukraine, who left the Ukrainian capital due to the situation after the Russian military invasion, will return to Kyiv. “It will happen soon,” Landsbergis said.