Budrys tells prime minister he will not run for president

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has told Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius that he does not intend to run in the 2029 presidential election, LRT reported.

“We discussed some political prospects with the prime minister, and this question of candidacy probably came up too. I said that I do not intend to run,” Budrys said in an interview published Friday by 15min.

Budrys said he gives the same answer whenever he is asked directly about running for president. He said that during the summer, when the Cabinet was being reshaped, he and Sinkevičius, then prime minister-designate, discussed foreign policy priorities for the new government’s programme.

The minister said speculation that he might not return to his post was deliberately spread by opponents to push him out of domestic politics and diminish the foreign policy achievements of Social Democratic governments. He said talk of a possible presidential bid complicates his work by prompting people to view his actions through the lens of domestic politics.

Budrys said Saulius Skvernelis began drawing attention to the possibility of his candidacy in autumn 2025. Presidential elections are scheduled for 2029.