„One of the most important issues for Minister G. Landsbergis after the decisions of the VTEK tomorrow would be to resolve the recall of the Ambassador to London, E. Bajarūnas. The Minister also hopes that tomorrow he and the President will take comprehensive decisions on other stalled appointments in the Lithuanian diplomatic corps“, Deputy Minister Jonas Survila said in a commentary to Elta on the eve of the meeting.
For its part, the Presidency, which has spoken of the last vestiges of patience in working with G. Landsbergis, is pleased that the head of the Lithuanian diplomatic service has offered to come to discuss the issue of the stalled diplomatic appointments.
The signals sent to the ministry have finally been noticed, the President's top adviser Frederikas Jansonas said on Tuesday.
„It is encouraging that those signals have finally been noticed. It may take time; people don't immediately focus on the signal, they don't understand, and they don't realise, but the most important thing is that the result is there, the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow,“ Mr Jansonas told Žinių Radijas on Tuesday.
Last week, the President, commenting on the stalled appointment of ambassadors, was quick to criticise the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
„The patience of the Lithuanian people and my patience is not infinite,“ G. Nausėda said, commenting on G. Landsbergis's statements that he had not received the position of the Presidency on the ambassadorial nominations.
„It is tough for me to comment. Maybe there is just a chaos in the Ministry; that the deputy minister does not show the document he received at the Presidential Office and does not show the names to the Minister, maybe the Minister was on vacation for too long,“ G. Nausėda told Lithuanian journalists in Brussels.
Disagreements over ambassadors began last year.
The Presidency and the ruling party have been arguing for the second month over who is to blame for the lack of an Ambassador at the embassy in Poland, which is strategically vital for Lithuania.
Last week, Asta Skaisgirytė, G. Nausėda's Chief Foreign Policy Adviser, told Žinių Radijas that the Head of State, by expressing his confidence in the Minister of Foreign Affairs, had sent a clear signal to the Head of Lithuanian diplomacy. Therefore, she said, the Presidency awaited the Minister's initiative to meet Gitanas Nausėda.
Since the autumn of last year, the URM (MFA) and the Presidency have been at loggerheads over the fate of Lithuania's Ambassador to the United Kingdom. After information about the possible mobbing of E. Bajarūnas appeared in the public domain, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidency argued over whether the Ambassador could continue his duties. As a result of this
situation, the Ministry carried out an investigation, which showed that the Ambassador had violated his mandate.
In October last year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, suspended Ambassador E. Bajarūnas until the constructive and productive work of the Lithuanian Mission in London was restored.
E. Bajarūnas was also brought to the High Official Ethics Commission's (VTEK) attention. Last week, the VTEK ruled that President G. Nausėda and E. Bajarūnas violated the Law on Public and Private Interests by attending The Phantom of the Opera musical. The Commission found that the visit to the musical was private and paid for with Embassy funds.
However, the Presidency disagrees with the conclusion of the VTEK. Daukantas Palace emphasises that the President did not receive any gifts or services from the Ambassador.
