About what kind of relations he proposes with Russia and Belarus and what he thinks about Crimea, he interviewed Eduard Vaitkum himself in the program “Dienos pjūvis” of the news portal tv3.lt.
Are you happy that Lithuania joined the European Union?
E. Vaitkus: I voted yes, I voted yes. And I thought that the EU would force Lithuanian officials to behave more decently, but when the EU is now going in the direction of centralization and when they say, we will determine how many refugees will have to be in Lithuania… <...> I can repeat the words of Hungarian Prime Minister Orban that such an EU has already crossed all limits. Because there are projected directions into the future that cause a threat.
If you became president, would you take Lithuania out of the EU?
E. Vaitkus: The problem is that we are not in the EU, it cannot be exported. <...> We did not withdraw from the Soviet Union, because we did not join the Soviet Union. Instead, he announced the restoration of independence. Because of Europe, we are in a very good negotiating position with the EU. I am for the fact that we should be in a powerful economic block, but only so that the block’s interference in the country’s internal affairs is not increasing. There are enough such healthy forces in Europe. And I think that we can live very well with our negotiating positions, that we did not join, and you know that, because Lithuanian legislation says so.
Why are you returning to politics after so long? What takes you there? Inner desire?
E. Vaitkus: No, no, no… The problem is that I would not go anywhere if Lithuania, our Lithuania, was going in the right and orderly direction. And what does orderly, correct mean? For the legal system to function. I say that during the last term of the Seimas, 111 members of the Seimas broke the Constitution and the interpretation of the Constitutional Court. During this term, 84 Seimas members broke the Constitution.
So why are you running for president? Because there is no order?
E. Vaitkus: I am going because the geopolitical situation is such that it leads us directly to war.
What drives us to war?
E. Vaitkus: You must have heard when Dalia Grybauskaitė said in plain text two years ago: it is necessary to start a direct war with Russia. She spoke like a person speaking through the lips of the authorities.
But now the president is Gitanas Nausėda and he does not lead anyone to war.
E. Vaitkus: Not leading? So, don’t you know the solutions? Our soldiers will be sent to Ukraine. I will clarify. What I just said has been planned and implemented for a long time, preparing Lithuanian society. War is inevitable, war will have to happen anyway. Not only from Lithuania, but also from other countries.
Putin and Russia believe that Lithuania should belong to their empire. So we have to turn the other cheek to them?
E. Vaitkus: Putin probably said that to you, but I think that Lithuania is independent and free. I have never once heard such a threat that Putin is threatening Lithuania. <...> The war in Ukraine began in 2022. at the end of February, and in 2021 in September, the United Kingdom threatened Russia with its own nuclear weapon. You say you haven’t heard about it because you’re not interested, so you don’t know.
What right do you think Russia had to separate Crimea from Ukraine? Do you support this and think the referendum was fair?
E. Vaitkus: There are facts confirmed by Western agencies that the people of Crimea really voted for Crimea to secede. I think that the referendum was fair and confirmed the will of the Crimean people. <...> In the Crimean referendum, I repeat, polls show that the population wanted to join Russia.
Watch the full interview in the video report at the top of the article.
Tags: Eduardas Vaitkus War inevitable war
-
