27 November
I thought there were no volcanoes in Lithuania. It seems I was wrong, the new Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Arūnas Valinskas, said having inspected the US F-15 C fighters.
Mr. Valinskas met with the acting Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas, Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Tutkus, and other representatives of the countrys Armed Forces and the management of the US Air Force contingent conducting NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission in the Air Base of the Lithuanian Air Force (LTAF) in Šiauliai. The Speaker of the Seimas visited the Quick Reaction Alert area where he inspected the US fighter aircraft. The US military personnel who carry out the air policing mission also organised a brief demonstration of quick reaction alert. Mr. Valinskas was very impressed by the power of humming fighters.
Acquaintance with Lithuanian and NATO Air Force is very useful. Although the powers of the Speaker of the Seimas concerning foreign policy are not very wide, a strong position when visiting other countries is of great importance. International organisations should be proud of having Lithuania as a member, rather than consider it to be a burden, the Speaker of the Seimas stated.
Indrė Viržintė, Spokesperson of the Seimas Speaker
