Lithuanian president criticises foreign minister’s remarks on Kaliningrad

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has described recent comments by Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys about NATO’s potential to neutralise Russian military capabilities in Kaliningrad as “not the most successful statement,” state broadcaster LRT reports.

“This was not Kęstutis Budrys’ most successful remark—perhaps the security expert in him overpowered the minister,” Nausėda told LNK Žinios on Friday. He cautioned that such hypothetical scenarios, while suitable for security analysts, were inappropriate for a foreign minister.

The president urged against subjecting Budrys to “lynch-mob justice,” warning that Russia, in its current “hysterical state,” actively seeks pretexts for provocation. “We must not give them even unfounded reasons,” he added.

Earlier this week, Budrys told Swiss publication Neue Zürcher Zeitung that NATO possesses the means to destroy Russian air defence and missile bases in the Kaliningrad exclave. “We must show Russia that we can breach their small fortress in Kaliningrad. If necessary, NATO has all the tools to level Russian air defence and missile bases there with the ground,” the minister stated.

Environment Minister Simonas Sinkevičius also weighed in on Thursday, calling Budrys’ rhetoric “tension-inducing.”