Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Tuesday said Vilnius would not revisit its decision to allow the Taiwan representative office to operate under its current name — a public break from Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene’s statements.
“We must understand that the issue of the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office was resolved several years ago,” Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LNT) quoted Nauseda as saying. “One can call it a mistake or something else, but it was an achievement for Taiwan in its relations with other countries. It was a stake they drove into the ground.”
Nauseda urged against litigating the issue, as backpedaling could force Lithuania to choose “between the name staying as it is, or no representative office at all.”
Photo: EPA
Lithuania aims to maintain pragmatic relations with Taiwan and China, he said, adding that the country is not interested in altering its position.
“Communist China’s reaction to this fact was what it was; it has not changed significantly, and we are certainly not ready to accept ultimate demands under any conditions,” he said.
Restoring ties with Beijing could involve allowing diplomatic representation of a level below that of an ambassador, Nauseda said.
Nauseda’s comments came after Ruginiene said the president had agreed that the office could be renamed “Taipei Representative Office.”
Nauseda denied the statement, saying: “The prime minister should not comment on my statements, especially from a closed meeting.”
Any change to the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania must be mutually agreed upon by both governments, he said.
However, Lithuania has not fully capitalized on its economic cooperation with Taiwan and the government “could have achieved more than we have,” he added.
Nauseda said he has ordered Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kestutis Budrys to work toward unlocking the potential of bilateral economic collaboration with Taiwan.
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