Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite received the high-ranking delegation on Friday. “The United States is Lithuania's key ally and strategic partner within NATO. The U.S. support has been a crucial factor in laying down collective defense principles in NATO's Strategic Concept. Partnership in the area of security, close dialogue on foreign policy issues and stronger bilateral economic relations - these are an important direction of our foreign policy in pursuing Euroatlantic cooperation," said Grybauskaite.
Lithuania's chairmanship of the OSCE and the country's policy toward Belarus were the main topics during the meeting. Talking to Belarusian students in Lithuanian Parliament McCain said: "current events in the Middle East and Egypt are ... strong lessons that no government can keep people without God-given rights forever."
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis, meanwhile, said Lithuania would continue to support Belarussian civil society: “Vilnius is the closest capital to Minsk, and this circumstance creates great opportunities for Belarusian non-governmental organizations and civil society activists to set up and work from a distance, implementing various initiatives. Lithuania has consistently supported the Belarusian civil society and will certainly continue to do so in the future.”
