15 September 2010
Mrs Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, is paying an official visit to Washington DC, where she will participate at the meeting of the Parliamentary Forum of the Community of Democracies. Mrs Degutienė is accompanied by Mr Algirdas Butkevičius, the future leader of the opposition at the Lithuanian Parliament, leader of the Social Democratic Political Group, and Mr Emanuelis Zingeris, MP, Chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Parliamentary Forum is expected to adopt the Washington Resolution setting up the Forum Secretariat in Vilnius, which will contribute to strengthening the activities of the Community of Democracies aimed at supporting and promoting democracy as well as providing multifaceted support to the President and member countries of the Forum. It is hoped that Vilnius will eventually become the hub for interparliamentary relations, cooperation, and coordination under the aegis of the Community of Democracies.
Today, the Speaker of the Seimas Mrs Degutienė met with US Senator John McCain. The subjects discussed at the meeting included the economic situation in Lithuania, political prospects of Belarus, situation in Ukraine, and Russian-Georgian relations.
The Speaker of the Seimas stressed that the US reset policy in relations with Russia should not undermine the security of small states. Mrs Degutienė highlighted that the Lithuanian Seimas adopted a resolution on Georgias territorial integrity on 1 June 2010 and called on the parliaments of other countries, including the US Congress, to follow suit. This will limit the possibilities for some countries to isolate Georgia, Degutienė claimed.
The Speaker of the Seimas invited the United States to pay more attention to the region and evoked her visit to Ukraine the week before. According to Degutienė, despite the geopolitical changes, the political elite in Ukraine is still interested in the EU integration. According to Degutienė, Ukraines ambition to sign a Free Trade Agreement with the EU and refusal to join the customs union with Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are encouraging signs. Lithuania, the US, and other Western countries should assist Ukraine and other Eastern European countries in coming closer to Europe, the head of the Lithuanian Parliament highlighted.
The meeting also briefly discussed the possible scenarios of the developments in Belarus and the prospective dilemmas the international community may face with regard to the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus.
Degutienė invited Senator John McCain to come to Vilnius for the 20th commemoration of the 13 January events in 2010. Senator accepted the invitation.
In my youth, when I participated in the US Independence Day celebrations on 4 July, I would always see the flags of the three suppressed Baltic States Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the crowd. I have strong sympathies for the Baltic States. I know that you are faced with economic problems now, but over the past 20 years you have achieved an impressive progress in restoring your own states. You can count on me, John McCain said.
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The Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament started her visit to Washington DC from a meeting with the Lithuanian community in Washington. During the meeting, particular attention was devoted to the preservation of the Lithuanian heritage and Lithuanian language education in the US. Mrs Degutienė invited the Lithuanians residing in the US to play an active role in the Lithuanian realities and contribute to the implementation of Lithuanias foreign policy goals. The Speaker of the Seimas also visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC and took part at the meeting with influential US foreign and security policy experts organised by the German Marshall Foundation.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas
Mr Juozas Ruzgys, Advisor to the Speaker, tel. 239 6023, 8 698 42073
