25.07.2011, 07:32
Latvian, Lithuanian Presidents Agree on Closer Cooperation
OREANDA-NEWS. July 25, 2011. President of Latvia Andris Berzins was on an official visit to Lithuania. There, he met with the country’s top officials, including the president of Lithuania and the speaker of the country’s parliament. He also laid down flowers at the Antakalnas cemetery during a special ceremony.
President Berzins was welcomed to the Presidential Castle by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. After they greeted one another, official photographs were taken, President Berzins signed President Grybauskaite’s guestbook, and the two presidents met individually.
After their meeting, at a news conference, President Berzins expressed his thanks to the Lithuanian president for her hearty welcome and invited her to pay a state visit to Latvia.
“During our discussion, we agreed to become actively involved in dealing with issues that we have in common so that we can arrive at joint positions on European Union issues,” Mr Berzins said. He added that Lithuania is Latvia’s leading trading partner, which is very important for Latvia. He added that the two presidents discussed issues that are on their countries’ agenda at this time in great detail.
One of these issues was the construction of a nuclear power plant at Visaginas. President Berzins said that “Latvia fully supports this historically important project in Lithuania, because Lithuania has all necessary conditions to implement it without any delay.” Asked about Latvia’s participation in the Visaginas project, President Berzins answered that “Latvia does not have the financing to take part in this project, but after evaluating the situation at Latvenergo and receiving information about how positively the processes in Lithuania are developing, I can say with certainty that Latvenergo will be able to become involved in the project. That will be not only an important business project, but also a political decision.”
President Berzins also said that he and President Grybauskaite discussed the development of the Rail Baltica project, agreeing that it is important not just for the Baltic States, but also in terms of the fact that the Baltic States would then move closer to the European Union with their own infrastructure projects.
A third issue discussed by the two presidents was the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Baltic States. President Berzins told journalists that it is just a matter of time before the issue is resolved, saying that this will happen during the next few years. He also said that one of Latvia’s greatest priorities is the subterranean gas storage facility at Incukalns, where the amount of stored gas is sufficient to supply the needs of all three Baltic States.
President Grybauskaite, for her part, said that there is room along the Baltic Sea shoreline for all possible terminals. She added that there could be a discussion about three terminals – one in each country, with one of the terminals being larger than the others. Mrs Grybauskaite confirmed that Lithuania supports Latvia’s intention of building the larger terminal.
Asked about the conflict between Lithuania and Austria in relation to the liberation of Mikhail Golovatov, President Berzins said that as a neighbouring country, Latvia understands Lithuania’s situation very well, because Latvia also experienced the dramatic nature of January 1991. He confirmed that Latvia fully supports Lithuania’s approach in dealing with the conflict, adding that Latvia’s foreign minister has summoned the Austrian ambassador to Latvia to receive an official diplomatic note in relation to the event.
At the conclusion of the press conference, President Grybauskaite told the new Latvian president that politics are an example of honest and selfless work on behalf of people, not of individual groups or politicians themselves. She said that she hopes that this is how President Berzins will work during his term in office.
During his official visit, President Berzins also met with the speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas, Irena Degutiene. The two officials discussed economic issues, including the Visaginas nuclear power plant, the liquefied gas terminal project, the energy independence of the Baltic States, and the mass emigration of people from the two countries – something that has also been of particular importance to Lithuania. The two officials discussed reasons for the mass emigration, ways in which it could be reduced, and ways of encouraging people to come back home.
Speaker Degutiene praised interparliamentary co-operation between Latvia and Lithuania, as well as co-operation under the auspices of the Baltic Assembly and the framework for partnership between Baltic and Nordic parliaments. The speaker thanked Latvia for its clear position vis-a-vis Lithuania’s problems with Austria. She also praised Latvia’s government for what it has done to overcome the economic crisis, particularly pointing to the role of Latvia’s head of government in that process.
President Berzins, for his part, thanked Speaker Degutiene about her warm welcome and the discussion with they had. He said that in purely human terms, it will always be nice for him to visit Lithuania.
Continuing his official visit, President Berzins went to the Antakalnas cemetery, where he laid down flowers in honour of Lithuanians who perished during the barricades of 1991. He also toured the Old City of Vilnius. At the conclusion of the visit, the President will take part in a luncheon hosted by his Lithuanian opposite number.
President Berzins was welcomed to the Presidential Castle by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. After they greeted one another, official photographs were taken, President Berzins signed President Grybauskaite’s guestbook, and the two presidents met individually.
After their meeting, at a news conference, President Berzins expressed his thanks to the Lithuanian president for her hearty welcome and invited her to pay a state visit to Latvia.
“During our discussion, we agreed to become actively involved in dealing with issues that we have in common so that we can arrive at joint positions on European Union issues,” Mr Berzins said. He added that Lithuania is Latvia’s leading trading partner, which is very important for Latvia. He added that the two presidents discussed issues that are on their countries’ agenda at this time in great detail.
One of these issues was the construction of a nuclear power plant at Visaginas. President Berzins said that “Latvia fully supports this historically important project in Lithuania, because Lithuania has all necessary conditions to implement it without any delay.” Asked about Latvia’s participation in the Visaginas project, President Berzins answered that “Latvia does not have the financing to take part in this project, but after evaluating the situation at Latvenergo and receiving information about how positively the processes in Lithuania are developing, I can say with certainty that Latvenergo will be able to become involved in the project. That will be not only an important business project, but also a political decision.”
President Berzins also said that he and President Grybauskaite discussed the development of the Rail Baltica project, agreeing that it is important not just for the Baltic States, but also in terms of the fact that the Baltic States would then move closer to the European Union with their own infrastructure projects.
A third issue discussed by the two presidents was the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Baltic States. President Berzins told journalists that it is just a matter of time before the issue is resolved, saying that this will happen during the next few years. He also said that one of Latvia’s greatest priorities is the subterranean gas storage facility at Incukalns, where the amount of stored gas is sufficient to supply the needs of all three Baltic States.
President Grybauskaite, for her part, said that there is room along the Baltic Sea shoreline for all possible terminals. She added that there could be a discussion about three terminals – one in each country, with one of the terminals being larger than the others. Mrs Grybauskaite confirmed that Lithuania supports Latvia’s intention of building the larger terminal.
Asked about the conflict between Lithuania and Austria in relation to the liberation of Mikhail Golovatov, President Berzins said that as a neighbouring country, Latvia understands Lithuania’s situation very well, because Latvia also experienced the dramatic nature of January 1991. He confirmed that Latvia fully supports Lithuania’s approach in dealing with the conflict, adding that Latvia’s foreign minister has summoned the Austrian ambassador to Latvia to receive an official diplomatic note in relation to the event.
At the conclusion of the press conference, President Grybauskaite told the new Latvian president that politics are an example of honest and selfless work on behalf of people, not of individual groups or politicians themselves. She said that she hopes that this is how President Berzins will work during his term in office.
During his official visit, President Berzins also met with the speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas, Irena Degutiene. The two officials discussed economic issues, including the Visaginas nuclear power plant, the liquefied gas terminal project, the energy independence of the Baltic States, and the mass emigration of people from the two countries – something that has also been of particular importance to Lithuania. The two officials discussed reasons for the mass emigration, ways in which it could be reduced, and ways of encouraging people to come back home.
Speaker Degutiene praised interparliamentary co-operation between Latvia and Lithuania, as well as co-operation under the auspices of the Baltic Assembly and the framework for partnership between Baltic and Nordic parliaments. The speaker thanked Latvia for its clear position vis-a-vis Lithuania’s problems with Austria. She also praised Latvia’s government for what it has done to overcome the economic crisis, particularly pointing to the role of Latvia’s head of government in that process.
President Berzins, for his part, thanked Speaker Degutiene about her warm welcome and the discussion with they had. He said that in purely human terms, it will always be nice for him to visit Lithuania.
Continuing his official visit, President Berzins went to the Antakalnas cemetery, where he laid down flowers in honour of Lithuanians who perished during the barricades of 1991. He also toured the Old City of Vilnius. At the conclusion of the visit, the President will take part in a luncheon hosted by his Lithuanian opposite number.
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