15 January
Speaker of the Seimas Arūnas Valinskas received
Ambassador of the State of Israel Chen Ivri. The first meeting, which
served the purpose of acquainting, mainly touched upon the relations of
Lithuania and Israel.
The Seimas Speaker
noted that after the elections to the Seimas and the formation of the
Government, Lithuanian foreign policy directions remained virtually unchanged,
and the relations with Israel would be strengthened.
We hope that Lithuania and Israel may move to
a new qualitative stage of mutual relations development. Being a European Union
Member State, Lithuania supports strengthening Israeli relations with this
European bloc, Mr. Valinskas said.
The Head of the Parliament also noted that the
newly elected parliament would seek principled decisions on problematic
bilateral issues, such as restitution, commemoration, etc.
Mr. Valinskas listened to the opinion of the
Ambassador concerning the Gaza Strip conflict and expressed Lithuanias
position regarding this matter.
Lithuania does not doubt about Israels right
to defend itself; however, we are concerned about hardly justified heavy
casualties of civilians, especially children. We approve of the initiatives to
resolve the conflict through political measures, Mr. Valinskas claimed.
The Speaker of the Seimas also asked the
Ambassador residing in Riga whether Israel intends to establish a
representative office in Lithuania in the near future. Chen Ivri assured Mr.
Valinskas that there are such plans, yet they are impeded by relevant economic
problems worldwide.
Indrė Viržintė, Spokesperson of the Seimas
Speaker
