Lithuanian Foreign Minister believes Russia will one day apologize for occupation

"I believe one day time will come when Russia will look back into the past with open eyes and say: we need to end this, just like in the case of Katyn. We have to take and apologize one time, stop this denial of occupation and erect a monument or something. We are open to various proposals from the Russian side," the minister said in an interview to the Kauno Diena daily on Saturday.

Ažubalis noted that he had raised the occupation issue with the Russian side six times during his ministerial term but the answer was negative all times.

"In terms of international law, we are keeping this issue on the international and bilateral agendas. It doesn’t matter if the Russians reject it. But it's still in the protocols and everywhere else." The foreign minister said.

In his opinion, "the longer it takes, the lonelier Russia becomes with its past and vision."

The Lithuanian government has recently set up a panel to prepare an action plan and negotiation position for the negotiations on the compensation of damage done by the Soviet occupation.

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in 1940 by sending over 150,000 troops of the Red Army into the country. In 1941-1944, Lithuania was under the Nazi German rule, followed by the second Soviet occupation that lasted until 1990.

Some 444,000 Lithuanian residents repatriated or fled Lithuania in the 1940-1952 period, 275,000 were taken to labor camps or deported. About 25,000 people were killed in fighting, in addition to more than 20,000 participants and supporters of resistance efforts.