Lithuania's foreign minister argues with prime minister over Skripal case

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said that Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis expressed "not a completely finished thought" speaking of the lack of an absolute confirmation of Russia's involvement in the Skripal case. This is not the first time that the foreign minister makes statements that contradict the statements of his leader, Sputnik Lithuania reports.

"The prime minister said that there is no absolute certainty that Skripal was poisoned by Russia. He also made statements earlier, which led to heated discussions, in particular, that it is necessary to recreate the intergovernmental commission with the Russian Federation. Do you think these discussions fit the times?" asked the LRT channel journalist. "This may not be a complete thought. I have no doubt and I know that the prime minister's opinion is the same (as all members of the Lithuanian government have - EADaily), he definitely does not doubt our British partners investigation, their conclusions and assumptions," said Linkevičius.

Recall that last week, following the US and the Baltic States summit in Washington, Skvernelis said that there is no 100 per cent confirmed involvement of Russia in the former GRU colonel, the British spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia poisoning in Salisbury. He urged the British authorities and international experts to "provide conclusive evidence." The Lithuanian prime minister said: "There is a high probability that this step was implemented by the Russian side. But a high probability is not a 100% confirmation of the fact. "

In early January, Skvernelis stated that Lithuania is the only country in the EU that does not support political contacts with Russia, and that this harms Vilnius as well. In this regard, the prime minister proposed to resume the bilateral intergovernmental commission work, as Latvia did earlier. Linkevičius was skeptical of Skvernelis' words and stated that he did not see the need to resume the work of the commission. In response, the prime minister noted that such statements by his subordinate make him doubt that Linkevičius is a member of his government.