Nausėda apologizes to Adamkus for missing centenary celebration

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says he respects and loves former president Valdas Adamkus and apologized for missing his centenary celebration this week, LRT reported Thursday, citing an interview with BNS.

“I called him before the event, apologized and explained the reasons. He knew about them, of course,” Nausėda said. Adamkus responded in one sentence, he added, contrasting the former president’s reaction with that of people who had criticized his absence.

Nausėda did not reveal what Adamkus said, but described him as a person with “an immense amount of wisdom and goodness in his heart.” He said he wanted to preserve their warm personal relationship and that missing the celebration would not affect it.

The president was in Germany on an official visit on Tuesday, when the celebration was held in Vilnius. He said the schedule had been set in advance and that it would have been a loss not to open a security conference being held with Lithuania for the first time. He said the conference ranks second in importance after the Munich Security Conference.

Organizers received a recorded greeting from Nausėda last week. He said he had written it himself and wanted the words to come from the heart. He added that changing his schedule abroad was not possible because of later planned trips. Ahead of Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, he is seeking to visit as many EU capitals as possible.