Lithuanian FM urges EU to halt visa-free regime for diplomatic passport holders
“We hope an agreement will be reached on the necessary steps. Given the situation on the streets of Tbilisi, with opposition leaders being arrested and the violence used against the protesters, this is not something that we can ignore or live with,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys stated ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers’ Council meeting in Brussels.
“So in Lithuania, we already introduced sanctions for almost 30 persons that were directly involved in organizing the brutal suppression of opposition protests. We also call for the EU to introduce sanctions against those persons.
The second thing is the visa-free regime. We should ban it for diplomatic and service passport holders. That’s what minimum we should do. Also, send this strong message that we can expand this ban in the future.
The third thing is to hold technical and political talks with Georgia within the EU Georgia association agreement. Also, stop all the institutional talks with the Georgian governmental institutions and stop the financial support that is provided to the institutions.
On the other hand, we have to send a strong message to Georgian civil society that we will support them. We need the financial package to show that we are serious because it’s now when we have to send the message to Georgian people in the streets that Europe doesn’t abandon you. Europe is with you. Europe needs you. This is why we have to do it right now today,” he declared.
Additionally, Kęstutis Budrys expressed support for Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their call for new elections, emphasizing that this approach was crucial for resolving the current crisis in Georgia.