SPEAKER OF THE LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT MET WITH SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN
Updated 2010-10-26
Irena Degutiene, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania met with the U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) on September 14. During the meeting Sen. McCain and Speaker Degutiene discussed the economic situation in Lithuania, political perspectives of Belarus, the situation in Ukraine and the Russian-Georgian relations. The Speaker stressed that the Russian-American reset politics should not be done at the expense of the security of small countries. Speaker Degutiene informed Sen. McCain that the Lithuanian parliament adopted a resolution supporting the territorial integrity of Georgia on June 1 and urged other countries' parliaments, including the U.S. Congress and Senate, to follow Lithuania's example.
"It would limit opportunities of certain states to isolate Georgia," Degutiene said.
Speaker Degutiene also urged the U.S. to pay more attention to the Baltic region. Lithuania, the U.S. and other Western countries should help Ukraine and other Eastern European countries to get closer to Europe, Degutiene said. Ms. Speaker invited Sen. McCain to come to Vilnius in January 2011 when Lithuanian will mark the 20th anniversary of the tragic January events. The U.S. Senator accepted the invitation.
