Budrys denies ministry pressured Taiwan to rename its Lithuania office

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has denied that his ministry pressured Taiwan to change the name of its representative office in Vilnius, while confirming that the two sides are holding talks, LRT reports.

“I deny that Taiwan was required to take action,” Budrys said on Tuesday in an interview with 15min. He rejected claims that the ministry had issued an ultimatum demanding a name change by October 1, but said discussions between Lithuania and Taiwan were “very broad and open.”

Budrys was responding to a report by Delfi that ministry representatives gave Constance H. Wang, head of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, an informal document in September urging a change of name by October 1. Delfi did not describe the request as an ultimatum. The report said Taiwan was offered an agreement on investment prospects and talks on avoiding double taxation in exchange for changing the office’s name.

Budrys said Lithuania had held regular discussions with the office since the spring about cooperation in the economy and technology, as well as obstacles to further progress. He said the process was continuing and that an individual episode should not be taken out of context before final decisions are made.

President Gitanas Nausėda said he knew about the ministry’s discussions with Taiwanese representatives, but described the office’s name as outside the “top ten” foreign policy priorities. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the two governments had agreed on the name after careful negotiations and that there were no plans to change it.

The Taiwanese Representative Office opened in Lithuania in late 2021, prompting a sharp deterioration in relations between Vilnius and Beijing. China imposed diplomatic and economic sanctions and downgraded its diplomatic representation in Lithuania from ambassador to chargé d’affaires. Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and opposes it establishing representative offices in countries with which China has official relations.

A draft of the Lithuanian government programme sets out a goal of normalising diplomatic relations with China to the level maintained by other European Union member states. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has said he hopes the foreign minister will achieve that goal before Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.