Lithuania Appoints Pro-Ukraine Government

Lithuania’s new social-democrat-led government was appointed on Thursday and has pledged to keep investing massively in defense and supporting Ukraine, as well as seek to normalize relations with China.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene was sworn in with a comfortable majority of 80 out of 122 votes in favor of her new government.

The government programme intends to “allocate no less than five percent of GDP” to defense and take “active measures to ensure that the international isolation of Russia and Belarus continues.”

It also pledged “military support for Ukraine, aiming for it to represent at least 0.25 percent of GDP” and encouraged “other European Union countries to allocate financial support at least equivalent to this amount.”

The former Soviet republic and current EU and NATO member shares borders with its allies Latvia and Poland, as well as the Russian exclave Kaliningrad and Moscow ally Belarus.

Like other countries in the region, Lithuanian airspace has recently been violated by drones attributed to Russia.

The new administration in Vilnius has also stated its intention to “normalize diplomatic relations with China to the same extent as other EU member states”.

China downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania when the Baltic state opened a de facto Taiwanese embassy in Vilnius in 2021.

The gesture marked a departure from the common diplomatic practice of naming representative offices after Taipei, the Taiwanese capital – a ploy to appease China, which views the island as part of its territory.

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There are currently no Chinese diplomats in Lithuania, as the last remaining official was refused entry for lacking the necessary accreditation in May, according to the authorities.

Lithuania’s previous social-democrat government under Gintautas Paluckas called China “an increasingly significant challenge for our foreign and security policy,” with China-Russia ties and Beijing’s growing influence in Belarus also considered a “threat.”

Paluckas resigned in July following an investigation into possible financial offenses linked to his companies.

The new governmental coalition includes the social-democrat party (LSDP), the populist Nemunas Dawn party, the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania-Christian Families, and independent lawmakers.