"I think it should not have been done as he had no such powers," Butkevičius told Žinių Radijas (News Radio) on Thursday.
In an interview to Polish dailies Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza last week, Linkevičius apologized for the 2010 vote in parliament, which rejected a proposal to allow Lithuania's Polish-speaking citizens to spell their names in official documents using non-Lithuanian characters.
The prime minister said in the interview that the Lithuanian foreign minister's appology was "certainly not on behalf of the state" and most likely just his personal opinion. According to Butkevičius, his fellow party member Social Democrat Linkevičius "did not have full information" about the 2010 vote before his visit to Poland.
"If we look at the whole situation of that hearing - firstly, the bill, I believe, was submitted and put on the agenda in a very irresponsible manner and at a wrong time. It was almost like [they were saying]: if you want, we can submit it and you take and consider it. Almost with a preconceived notion that it will be rejected," the Lithuanian prime minister described the situation when he, the then leader of an opposition group in parliament, did not back the bill and abstained.
"It's a totally low-level political understanding and low international-level thinking when we have issues very important internally and outside. At the time it was clearly stated in the conclusions of the Legal Department that it might run counter to the Constitution. So I think the foreign minister most probably did not have that information himself," Butkevičius said.
He also rejected claims of growing opposition on foreign policy between the ruling Social Democrats and President Dalia Grybauskaitė.
"I definitely disagree. As far as I know, until that day, the foreign minister's relations with the president of the Republic were very good, and we really coordinate foreign policy issues before any visit. The foreign minister or the vice-minister always accompany me during visits and there are no confrontations. Personally, I neither wish not seek any," the head of government said.
On Wednesday, Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaitė slammed Linkevičius for his apology to Poland, saying that only elected, not appointed, officials could make statements on behalf of the state.
