Recently, the authorities and the Presidency had managed to avoid major disagreements that had significantly overshadowed Lithuanian diplomacy when it was led by former conservative leader Gabrielius Landsbergis.
The former foreign minister’s conflict with President Gitanas Nausėda over the then ambassador to the United Kingdom, Eitvydas Bajarūnas, backfired on all three – the diplomat accused of bullying ultimately lost his position, the head of state received an unfavorable ethics watchdog conclusion, and G. Landsbergis lost the chance to pursue a career at the top in Brussels.
However, it seems that the calm that had prevailed in the country’s diplomatic kitchen for a while has ended. New storms are brewing in Vilnius over the ambassador to the USA, G. Varvuolis, appointed last summer. However, the diplomat, who has fallen out of favor with subordinates, is currently protected by both the Presidency and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kęstutis Budrys.
Still, according to sources, what is said to save G. Varvuolis the most is that the Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas, conservative Žygimantas Pavilionis, has become very actively involved among the ambassador’s subordinates’ advocates.
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The opposition representative not only accuses K. Budrys of avoiding solving problems that arose in an important representation but also hints at rumors that the minister, shaken from his post by the Social Democrats, might himself be eyeing the ambassador’s seat in Washington, which allegedly could become a springboard to the palace on S. Daukantas Square.
What happened across the Atlantic and what decisions might Vilnius take? Will the ambassador, who got involved in a conflict with subordinates, be recalled, or will the special training sessions arranged for him, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was forced to announce this week, be enough?
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