Lithuanian opposition demands clearer foreign policy direction

Lithuania’s opposition parties have called for a more coherent foreign policy after a meeting at the Presidential Palace, criticising the current government for a lack of coordination, LRT reports.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, leader of the opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), said President Gitanas Nausėda discussed around 20 key foreign policy and security issues with party leaders. However, Kasčiūnas argued that Lithuania’s state institutions lack a unified approach.

“It is clear that our state currently lacks coordination in foreign policy. We have a government acting like a headless horseman, moving wherever individual officials decide,” Kasčiūnas told journalists in the Seimas on Tuesday. “This cannot continue. First and foremost, we must coordinate and clearly understand who the head of state is. There is only one head of state—the president of the republic, who is responsible for foreign policy.”

Kasčiūnas also highlighted divisions among political forces over Belarus, noting that some parties still believe engagement with Minsk could distance it from Russia. He dismissed this as unrealistic, citing the “total integration” of Belarus into Russia’s military and political structures.

“We have political forces that still think opening up to Belarus could pull it away from the Russian Federation. We have the ‘Nemunas Dawn’ party, the Greens, and individual figures who believe this—but it’s clear that Belarusian leader [Alexander Lukashenko] is not an independent military leader. Any attempt to pull Belarus away from Russia is doomed to fail,” he said.

Kasčiūnas criticised Lukashenko’s tactic of imprisoning political opponents only to later release some for diplomatic leverage, calling it a “20-year game” that distracts from the fact that political prisoner numbers in Belarus have not decreased.

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the opposition Liberal Movement, said the meeting reinforced the impression that the ruling coalition lacks a unified foreign policy. While most participants stressed the need for consistency on Belarus sanctions and Taiwan’s diplomatic representation, smaller coalition partners pushed for a more “flexible” approach.

“While the majority spoke about maintaining consistency on sanctions against the Belarusian regime, not wavering on Taiwan’s representative office name, and avoiding illusions that changing our stance toward authoritarians will yield concessions, the two smaller coalition partners advocated for a ‘flexible foreign policy,’ excessive sanctions, and ‘Lithuania first’—as if scattered foreign and security policies could somehow benefit Lithuania,” Čmilytė-Nielsen wrote on Facebook.

She added that Prime Minister Ingrida Ruginienė’s parallel security meeting—convened after a reported drone incident in Varėna district—further underscored the lack of clarity in Lithuania’s foreign policy priorities.

The Presidential Palace meeting was the second of its kind, following a February 19 gathering where leaders reportedly agreed on Lithuania’s foreign policy direction. Ruginienė had been expected to attend but was occupied with the National Security Commission session.