Budrys says China talks are one meeting among many

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said a meeting between the Foreign Ministry and a Chinese delegation was one of several such encounters, not the most important or the last. He made the comments in an interview with LRT’s “Dienos tema” programme, LRT reported.

Budrys said the two sides had discussed conditions for improving relations before and would continue to do so. He declined to comment on the meeting’s details, noting that it differed from earlier encounters mainly because it had been announced publicly.

Asked whether China had called for a change to the name of the Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius, Budrys neither confirmed nor denied that this was among the conditions discussed. He said the talks covered China’s view of the events of 2021, its assessment of the current situation and possible future steps. Lithuanian diplomats would assess how any proposals aligned with the country’s interests, he said, adding that no decisions had been made.

Budrys said Lithuania had also presented its own concerns, including what it considers breaches of the Vienna Convention and free-trade rules. He stressed that discussions did not mean one side simply setting conditions for the other.

Responding to questions about a year-end deadline for normalising ties, Budrys said no such condition had been formally set for him. He added that relations with China and Taiwan were not Lithuania’s priorities, pointing to other foreign policy issues and preparations for Lithuania’s future presidency of the European Union. A minister’s tenure, he said, ultimately depends on the confidence of the prime minister and president.