"What the journalist from Catalonia did was very disgraceful," the prime minister told the Lithuanian national radio on Tuesday.
"Spain is a country of NATO and the European Union, and I said very clearly that any discussions inside Spain should be settled in line with the international law and the Spanish Constitution. And they asked a question about the Baltic Way. My words about the Baltic Way of the Baltic nations was adapted as an example that allegedly fit for the Catalonian case," Butkevičius explained.
Lithuania's ambassador in Madrid was summoned to the Spanish Foreign Ministry over the prime minister's statement on Catalonia.
Madrid's steps followed Butkevičius' interview to the local media where he said that the example of the Baltic Way – a mass campaign where the Baltic nations protested against the Soviet rule – inspired the people of Catalonia who last week formed a human chain to demand independence from Spain.
"I am very happy to see the Lithuanian example to inspire people elsewhere," the prime minister said in the interview.
Before the news broke, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry had issued a press release, saying that the Spanish media had provided a biased and misleading interpretation of the Lithuanian stance on Catalonia.
"We stress that it is not correct to compare the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States with the situation in Spain. Spain is a democratic country, a member state of the European Union and Lithuania’s close ally in the EU and NATO," reads the statement.
