Vėgėlė withholds details of China meeting as he hopes to restore ties

Lithuanian MP Ignas Vėgėlė declined to disclose what was discussed with a Chinese delegation but said he hoped diplomatic relations would be restored, LRT reported.

Asked what conditions Beijing had set for Lithuania, Vėgėlė said the focus should be on whether Lithuania itself wanted to restore relations and diplomatic representation with China. He said the discussion was confidential and that the issue was for the Foreign Ministry to address. He added that he had not heard the many conditions reported by journalists.

The delegation is visiting Lithuania as Vilnius seeks to restore diplomatic ties. A meeting at the Foreign Ministry is scheduled for Thursday, without Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys. The ministry told BNS that the meeting is part of regular consultations with China on the conditions for accrediting diplomats in Vilnius and Beijing, but it could not comment further because of the sensitivity of the information.

Vėgėlė met the delegation as head of a temporary parliamentary group seeking to normalise diplomatic relations with China to the level maintained by European Union member states. The meeting was the group’s own initiative and was not included in the official visit programme, according to Seimas Foreign Affairs Committee chair Remigijus Motuzas.

Relations deteriorated after Lithuania’s previous government allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwanese Representative Office”; in other countries, such offices operate under the name Taipei. Chinese state media reported earlier this week that changing the office’s name alone would not be enough for Lithuania.

Lithuania’s government programme includes a goal of restoring diplomatic representation between the two countries. Motuzas said the aim was to restore diplomatic representation, not political relations, and added that concerns about the threat posed by China had not been forgotten.