Lithuania needs active, effective diplomacy: president

Lithuanian diplomats residing abroad should leave their offices and actively seek contacts with foreign politicians, society, businesses and media in order to represent Lithuania well, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said Wednesday.

She was speaking during Lithuania's annual ambassadors' meeting which started Wednesday and will last three days.

"Diplomats must be close to Lithuanian people, to hear and understand their problems and expectations and defend the state's interests in all possible areas," the head of state was quoted in a statement released by the presidency.

All Lithuanian nationals who happen to be abroad during a crisis situation must receive high-quality, swift and timely diplomatic assistance, Grybauskaite said.

In a separate comment to ELTA news agency, she suggested that Lithuania's diplomatic missions should take adequate consular actions in cases of quickly escalating crises.

"For example, during the attempted coup in Turkey, it was very hard to reach our diplomatic representations by phone," Grybauskaite said.

Grybauskaite said special focus should be placed on protecting Lithuania's interests in the process of forging future relations in European Union.

Maintaining strong relations with Baltic and Nordic countries, the United States and Germany is also on top of Lithuania's foreign policy agenda, the presidency noted.

Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius, during a separate meeting with Lithuanian ambassadors, pointed to fast-changing foreign policies all over the world, multiple shocks and the threat of terrorism.

"We cannot ignore the spread of terror in Europe and neighboring countries," Butkevicius said. Endite