Analytics, Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Lithuania

The outgoing ambassador to Ukraine has been working in Kiev for the last five years.

According to Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius, Vaitiekunas has never played safe by staying away from the hotspots in Europe both when he was appointed as the ambassador to Ukraine and during his previous posts as the ambassador to Belarus and Latvia or when he worked as the foreign affairs minister.

"When the Russian troops were near Tbilisi and nobody knew if they would stop or go further, he was there in Tbilisi. While this year, Vaitiekunas was the only ambassador of the European Union in the Crimea during the so called Crimea "referendum," said the foreign minister of Lithuania.

Information provided by Vaitiekunas not only helped in various foreign policy debates but it also helped the media. Many journalists note that the ambassador has never refused to provide the latest information on the events in Ukraine, while his statements oftentimes would be more open and strict than those of a typical diplomat.