Exclusive | Lithuania seeks more EU support as US offers US$600m to cushion impact from row with Beijing over Taiwan
- Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says the Baltic state would ‘appreciate’ material support from Brussels after coming under pressure from Beijing
- Vilnius says plans for an EU-China summit involving all individual member states are ‘moving forward’
Lithuania would “appreciate” stronger European Union support in its dispute with China, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, after the United States agreed to offer the Baltic nation financial support to help cushion any financial losses stemming from the row.
“I think that you could say that [China] was an impetus for some discussions. Our discussion with our partners was always that Lithuania is facing certain problems, economic and financial, because of pressure that we’re receiving from China,” Landsbergis said in an interview in Vilnius.
In a furious statement issued after the opening of the de facto embassy, Beijing “demanded that the Lithuanian side immediately correct its wrong decision”.
“The Lithuanian side is responsible for all consequences arising therefrom,” the statement continued, describing it as an “egregious act”.