News

On 7 March, the Ambassador of Lithuania to the United States of America Rolandas Kriščiūnas attended a hearing of the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. On the invitation of the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Senator Lindsey Graham, the Lithuanian, Estonian, Latvian, Polish and Georgian Ambassadors and the Ukrainian Foreign Minister shared their views on threats posed by Russia and told the participants the type of work each country did to reduce these risks, as well as discussed a possibility for closer cooperation with the U.S.

The purpose of the hearing of the Subcommittee, which passes appropriations bills that cover the funding for programs under the purview of the U.S. Department of State, is in the run-up to the review of the fiscal year 2018 budget to assess threats posed by Russia and estimate the resources needed to respond to these threats both in the United States and in Europe.

Senators voiced particular concerns not only over Russia’s military build-up in the Baltic region and planned major military exercise, but also over intense Russian actions in information space and cyberspace, propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Members of the Subcommittee took an interest in the influence of Russia’s policy on democracies and expressed their belief that adverse actions should not remain without a response. They also highlighted the importance of the U.S.-European unity.

The Lithuanian Ambassador presented examples of how Russia acted in Lithuania, stressing Lithuania’s commitment to take care of its own security and willingness to invest in its defence, building public resilience readiness against hybrid threats. Lithuania was praised for its work to ensure the country’s energy independence and security.

Kriščiūnas proposed concrete projects for the Lithuania-U.S. cooperation in the fight against propaganda, aiming to counter cyber-attacks more effectively, protecting the Lithuanian border and, at the same time, defending NATO’s external borders. The diplomat noted that the signal of broadcasts of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) via Lithuania should be strengthened, providing an alternative to the systematic flood of Russian propaganda and fake news.

The Ambassador also expressed Lithuania’s concerns over the Astravets nuclear power plant that was being constructed in violation of international conventions.