In comment of the solution to the Syrian conflict, the Lithuanian diplomacy chief told Žinių Radijas radio station on Wednesday morning that the developments coincided with the Russian measures launched against Lithuania and countries of the Eastern Partnership program.
"If there is a crisis, and the crisis is not in our region but somewhere in a remote location, we have observed a rule that something else takes place in our region, and in this disguise of, let's say, world attention, bad things happen in our region," said Linkevičius.
Global leaders are still deciding on a response to the developments in Syria, where the ruling regime has been accused of using chemical weapons. Last week, the United States and Russia agreed on a plan to destroy the Syrian chemical weapons by mid-2014.
Meanwhile, Russia started thorough checks of Lithuanian haulers, which has brought major losses to both haulers and manufacturers. Furthermore, Russia announced plans earlier this week to step up the control of dairy imports from Lithuania.
In response to the detailed customs checks of Lithuanian commodities, Linkevičius sent a letter to the European Union's (EU) High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, European Commission's Vice-President Siim Kallas, European Commissioners Algirdas Šemeta, Karel de Gucht, and Stefan Fule.
In the run-up to the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in the end of November, Moscow has taken measures against countries of the Eastern Partnership, banning imports of production of Ukraine's largest confectionery producer, also restricting imports of Moldovan wines.
In response, the European Parliament passed a resolution, urging Russia to stop hindering European integration of the Eastern Partnership countries.
The Eastern Partnership program, which involves Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, is one of the priorities of the Lithuanian presidency of the EU Council.
