Members of Lithuania's coalition have expressed dissatisfaction with the foreign minister's performance

Partners in Lithuania’s ruling coalition have voiced concerns regarding Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys. The politicians have expressed dissatisfaction with the extent of his autonomy in decision-making.

Ligita Girskene, a member of the Lithuanian Farmers, Greens and Christian Families Union faction, believes that the minister acts independently and does not coordinate his actions with Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene.

"The more I participate in the majority’s activities and coalition meetings, the more I get the impression that Budrys is working on his own, without even consulting with the Prime Minister or coordinating his actions and positions. After all, we have a government program that needs to be implemented. It seems like he’s implementing some kind of his own program,” Girskene commented on Wednesday.

"I don’t have any further news; foreign policy isn’t my area of expertise. But I’ve definitely heard about the criticism directed at the minister—people are talking about it behind the scenes. What’s most upsetting is that there’s no dialogue," she added.

According to her, if the Social Democrats decide to replace Budris, she will convene a meeting to discuss the issue.

“But, from what I’ve heard from my colleagues in the faction, they do indeed have complaints about the minister’s work,” noted Girskene.

In turn, Robertas Puchovičius, deputy chair of the “Zori Niman” faction, notes that this faction does not yet have its own position on this issue.

“In any case, it’s bad when ministers stick to their own vision and don’t coordinate their actions with the key figures who nominated that particular person,” he emphasized.

He also noted that “Zorya Niman” is skeptical of Budris’s work. “If we start evaluating his work, we certainly have many complaints. Sometimes he speaks on behalf of the entire coalition, even though the issue hasn’t been agreed upon within the coalition. That’s bad. Relations with Russia are bad and cannot be improved, but to intimidate Russia on behalf of the coalition and further escalate… the situation by hinting that war could break out in the near future—that is truly bad. All such statements must be coordinated with the prime minister," Puchovich concluded.

According to the news portal LRT, citing sources, a decision to replace Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys may be made at a meeting of the Social Democratic Party Council on Saturday. According to the portal’s sources, at least five Social Democrats stated in private conversations that Budrys’s position on foreign policy issues does not fully align with the political principles defined by the party and the government.

This was reported by the Delfi portal.