During the debate, Šimonytė and Žemaitaitis argued emotionally: “Is this a joke?”

Rejecting Artūras Zuokas, the leader of the Freedom and Justice party, ‘s criticism that the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) should not be allowed to participate in foreign policy because only „conflict politics“ is being developed, the outgoing Prime Minister stressed that the current Russian war in Ukraine is not caused by Lithuanian Conservatives at all.

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„Whatever else, Conservatives should certainly not be allowed to be involved in foreign policy. The last four years have shown that it is only a policy of conflict creation. In many cases, the decisions taken by the Conservatives under the guise of very nice slogans have benefited Putin himself,“ said Zuokas during the LRT debate.

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„When you say that foreign policy is a policy of conflicts, you may not have noticed, but the biggest geopolitical conflict since the Second World War is happening now, and it was not caused by the Conservatives,“ Šimonytė retorted.

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However, Žemaitaitis supported the position of Zuokas. He recalled that Lithuania was in the international spotlight when the scandal of the transit of EU-sanctioned goods between Russia and the Kaliningrad region broke.

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„I would like to object here. Prime Minister, remember the transit ban to Kaliningrad, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs followed fairy tales without even reading the English texts until finally, the Members of the Seimas received the original text on the bans and the alleged recommendation to ban transit through Lithuania,“ a former Member of the Seimas said to Ms Šimonytė.

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„Then, you know very well, the Americans and the European Union intervened and said – „Dear Gabrielius (Landsbergis – ELTA), sit down on the chair of calm down,“ Žemaitaitis said.

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The Prime Minister denied such statements. She recalled that the European Commission (EC) would soon provide a more detailed explanation of implementing sanctions.

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„Nothing like that, I have to deny. The European Commission guidelines were issued at the time and are now being applied in an orderly manner“, Šimonytė retorted to Žemaitaitis.

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„It was clearly stated that sanctions were being applied“, she added.

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However, Žemaitaitis called the position of Foreign Minister Landsbergis, which was criticised at the time, „Krylov’s fairy tale“.

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„I understand, Ingrida, that you must defend him, the party’s leader; I understand all you must do. Everything is cool. But this man, understand, he cannot be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he cannot pursue that policy,“ the leader of Nemuno Aušra reiterated, stressing that Landsbergis’s posture is not conducive to building a relationship with society.

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However, Šimonytė responded quickly, saying that regarding Lithuania’s stance towards Belarus, Landsbergis has consistently called for separating civil society in the neighbouring country from the regime.

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„Gabrielius Landsbergis is the man who has always defended the separation of Lukashenko from the Belarusian people. (…) At the expense of his reputation,“ the leader of the Conservative list for the Seimas said.

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Žemaitaitis was surprised to see this position.

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„Are you joking? (…) What have we achieved by banning the transport of fertilisers through Klaipėda today? Where are these fertilisers going today?“ the politician questioned the Prime Minister, answering that Belarusian fertilisers are being transported via Russia.

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However, the Prime Minister assured that such a transit is much more expensive for Belarus than exporting fertilisers via the port of Klaipėda. She, therefore, compared Mr Žemaitaitis’s vision to the Minsk authorities’ efforts to open a transit route through Lithuania.

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„It is costly to export (fertiliser via Russia – ELTA). This is why they have always been fighting for Lithuania to reopen transit. And you seem to be fighting for the same thing“, Šimonytė summarised.

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During the LRT debate, a dispute broke out between Ingrida Šimonytė, the leader of the Conservative list, and Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the chairman of the party Nemuno Aušra.

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ELTA recalls that Lithuania has restricted the transit of steel and ferrous metals to Kaliningrad after EU sanctions came into force in June 2022. According to the authorities at the time, this ban on transporting sanctioned goods to Kaliningrad is based on EU sanctions. A month later, in July, despite Moscow’s threats, the prohibition in the EU sanctions package to prevent cement, alcohol, and various luxury goods from Russia passing through EU territory came into force.

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Russia reacted to these restrictions by expressing anger and even threats against Lithuania. The EC and some EU countries have expressed the view that transit through Lithuania should not be subject to European sanctions. In diplomatic corridors, it was argued that such a position would help de-escalate the already tense situation in the region.

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However, the Lithuanian Government continued to argue that there was no need to publish new EC guidelines, as they would only further encourage Russia’s aggressive behaviour. Moreover, the ruling party assured that it had already received clarification from the EC in the spring that the ban on importing sanctioned goods includes their transit through Lithuania.

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However, in mid-July, the EC issued guidelines allowing Russia to transit sanctioned goods by rail through EU territory to Kaliningrad, but only if these goods are not used for military purposes.