Lithuanian prime minister calls for trust in law enforcement amid Skvernelis corruption probe

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Ruginienė has urged patience and trust in law enforcement as prosecutors investigate former parliamentary speaker Saulius Skvernelis over alleged bribery, calling the case regrettable for the country’s political life, LRT reports.

“I would like to assess this as a citizen, as a person, but unfortunately today I don’t have that luxury,” Ruginienė told journalists on Wednesday. “I must fully trust the law enforcement institutions and wait for the investigation’s conclusions.”

She emphasised the presumption of innocence, noting that prosecutors had stressed this principle in their statements. “Let’s not rush to conclusions—we must wait for the investigation to finish,” she said.

Ruginienė declined to interfere in the probe, calling the situation “regrettable” for Lithuania’s political arena. Her comments follow a request by the prosecutor general to strip Skvernelis of his legal immunity, a step he has said he will waive voluntarily, though he denies taking bribes.

The case comes as Ruginienė also addressed coalition tensions after a vote on the Kapčiamiestis military training ground law, where 11 MPs—including eight from the “Nemuno Aušra” faction—opposed the bill. Despite dissent, she framed the 109–11 vote as a sign of growing support for national security measures.

Asked whether the vote could prompt the Social Democrats to reconsider their coalition role, Ruginienė dismissed the link, calling them “unrelated issues.” She also confirmed that a dispute with the Peasant Greens Union over viceminister appointments would be resolved privately, praising the “excellent, friendly, and professional” relations between the parties.

Coalition discussions have intensified in recent weeks, with Social Democrat leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius set to present his party’s vision for the government’s future at a meeting on Thursday. The current ruling bloc—comprising the Social Democrats, “Nemuno Aušra,” and the Peasant Greens—holds 80 seats in the 141-member parliament. Without “Nemuno Aušra,” the coalition would lose its clear majority, dropping to 62 seats.