Naive, simply childish, foreign policy of the Lithuanian government

"Finally, German Ambassador Matthias Sonn's patience has run out. He is insulted by the frequent talk that Germany is withdrawing from its commitments regarding the brigade, and the publicly expressed displeasure will not send any additional troops to Lithuania. The statements have acquired a tone of mistrust, offending Germany, and the whole discussion is "disruptive and harmful." Sonn added that he had to inform his superiors in Berlin that it was obvious that "in the last few years, Germany has lost some degree of trust in the Lithuanian political spectrum, media and society." His complaint is harsh but fair. It is not clear why Berlin was silent for so long.

It must be admitted that the ambassador's remarks were agreed with the authorities, that it was not just a personal complaint. Although the main focus is on the deployment of the brigade, it is not only about it, but about the relations between Germany and Lithuania in general - they are not good, and certainly not through Germany's fault. Germany was criticized for Nordstream I and Nordstream II, for trade with Russia, for not implementing NATO defense commitments and delaying sanctions against Russia, for caring about the well-being of its country and citizens, for insufficient support for Ukraine, for refusing to transfer the most modern weapons to it, for trade with China, even because of the desire to have a somewhat independent foreign policy. Criticized by everyone in Lithuania - the highest government officials, ordinary politicians, witty commentators, Sonn mentions "countless military experts who determine what is and what is not a brigade, and where it is." G. Landsbergis often played the first fiddle, although it can be assumed that the foreign minister should improve, not worsen, relations with an important ally, conduct the most sensitive negotiations diplomatically, and therefore in private, not in public space.

Some of the criticism is valid. It was unjustifiable to allocate only about one percent of GDP to defense, although at the beginning of the second decade, Lithuania also allocated less than one percent, and President D. Grybauskaitė ingeniously explained that the supposed commitments to NATO were not really valid. Berlin should have questioned whether trade policy (Wandel durch Handel) could lead to positive political change after Putin became more vocal about his dissatisfaction with Western policies.

The incessant rebuke no doubt annoyed the Germans, but perhaps even more so was the haughty, Besserwisserei-drenched, boastful tone in which the criticism was delivered. We Lithuanians are said to know the Russians, we understand their intentions, so we are more perceptive, and because of our greater hostility to Russia and favor to Ukraine, we are even more virtuous. This kind of tail wagging is not unusual for small countries, but it is usually unwarranted. 

Lithuania does not have real Russian experts (which the Germans know) who have published in-depth analyses, young Lithuanian scientists do not travel to Russia to get to know its inhabitants and feel the pulse of the country's life. "Knowing" is based on the preconceived notion that the Russians are "bad guys" who will sooner or later reveal themselves in all their ugliness. Almost every "Zapad" exercise was preceded by a warning that it could be a cover for aggression against Lithuania. It has been asked: Zapad 2021 - are we ready for a "green men" scenario? But Lithuania has not been attacked yet.

I will quickly mention a few cases of exaggerated criticism of Germany. Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel was accused of betraying Poland and Lithuania by speaking directly [with Lukashenko]. But no one specified what exactly that betrayal was and the damage it caused. This is not surprising, since there was no betrayal or harm. And Lithuania itself sometimes behaves independently, without coordinating its positions with its partners, for example, when Landsbergis announced that Lithuania intends to open a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania.

Last November, Landsbergis hinted that an attempt was being made to remove  state airline of Belarus Belavia from the list of sanctions being prepared for Belarus by the European Union (EU). Although he did not know which country was offering it, he publicly speculated that it might be Germany. Landsbergis did not try to determine whether Germany had made such an offer, did not contact the responsible German officials, did not ask our embassy in Berlin to clarify the situation. There may be fears that some EU country will seek to soften the sanctions against Belarus despite the general consensus to implement them, but this does not justify the chatter, which once again aimed to cast a shadow on Germany.

One more example. After the European Commission (EC) allowed the transit of sanctioned goods through Kaliningrad, some Lithuanian politicians and experts called the decision Lithuania's capitulation and the country becoming a "transit yard". It was stated that this concession will not be the only one, Russia will demand more. Almost half a year later, those events are nowhere to be seen. It must be noted that not everyone who commented considered the decision a mistake or regrettable understanding

Germany receives the most flak from Lithuania, but it is not the only target of criticism. France and its President Macron are often in the crosshairs of critics. A storm of criticism arose when he claimed that Russia also needed security guarantees. His comments were skewed. He did not say that only Russia should be given security guarantees or that priority should be given to its security over Ukraine's, he constantly emphasized that Ukraine would not be forced to agree to unacceptable compromises. But the critics, even the usually very perceptive A. Kubilius, did not notice this. It is one thing to advise, propose, urge Ukraine to negotiate, quite another to force or try to force Ukraine to accept unacceptable conditions.

I admit that Paris is not happy with Lithuania's reproaches, especially when they are out of hand. We all have the right to express our opinion, no matter how smart or not. But government representatives should weigh their words, because they also express the state's position. The desire to moralize and teach others should be tempered by the understanding that it is worth having friendly relations with allies. In this case, Lithuania was able to capture and anger the country that undertook to defend us. Even our superpatriots should be able to understand that Lithuania does not need such achievements."