Lithuanian prime minister says party colleague accepted his apology

Prime Minister and Social Democratic leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Friday that fellow party member Laura Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė had accepted his apology for a remark about divorce, LRT reported.

“We have reconciled and will move on,” Sinkevičius told reporters in Klaipėda.

“I apologised, she accepted my apology, and I believe we will continue communicating, remain friends and everything will be fine,” he added.

On Thursday, Sinkevičius said in the Seimas, Lithuania’s parliament, that he wanted Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė, who is considering leaving the Social Democrats, to remain in her position. However, he said the party should part ways amicably if she decided to leave.

“If we part ways, then we part ways, but we need to do so on good terms, because it is unclear when life may bring us together to work again,” the prime minister said.

Later, while answering questions about Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė, Sinkevičius referred to her personal life.

“The divorce would probably be the second one … Well, perhaps I am referring not entirely appropriately to a divorce in someone’s personal life,” he told reporters at the Seimas.

On Thursday evening, the prime minister posted a public apology on Facebook and expressed hope that the situation would not leave lasting resentment.