He has established himself as a fervent defender of Ukraine, while the Baltic country of 2.8 million inhabitants fears aggression from its neighbor, Russia.
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The pro-European President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda was triumphantly re-elected in the second round of the presidential election, Sunday May 26, against his Prime Minister and rival, the conservative Ingrida Simonyte. After counting 96% of the ballots, the candidate for re-election, a 60-year-old former center-right banker, received 74.6% of the votes, according to the Electoral Commission. He will therefore run again for a second five-year term after this second round marked by a low participation rate, at 49.61%.
The Lithuanian people “entrusted me with a great mandate of trust and I am well aware that I must cherish this credit of trust”Gitanas Nauseda told the press in Vilnius. “Now that I have five years of experience, I think I will definitely be able to use this gem correctly, first of all to achieve the welfare goals for all people of Lithuania”he added.
Gitanas Nauseda has established himself as a staunch defender of Ukraine. During its first term, Lithuania has welcomed tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. According to the Kiel Institute, based in Germany, the country ranks in the top three of donors to the war-torn country, as a percentage of GDP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was one of the first to congratulate his counterpart. “You have been by our side every day and night during these very difficult years”he wrote on the social network
Lithuania, a member of the EU and NATO, fears it will be Russia’s next target if it wins the war against Ukraine. Gitanas Nauseda is a vocal critic of the Kremlin. “The hatred fueled by Russia threatens our world order. It threatens each of us”he said on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion in February.
Lithuania, a former Soviet republic which declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, devotes 2.75% of its GDP to defense and plans to increase this rate soon. “Lithuania’s independence and freedom are like a fragile vessel that we must cherish, protect and prevent from cracking”, declared the head of state to the press on Sunday evening. In Lithuania, the president directs defense and foreign policy and attends EU and NATO summits. But he must consult the government and parliament to appoint the highest officials.