Embassy Row

Lithuania matures

Lithuanians spent the early spring in “bouts of joy and determination,” celebrating membership in NATO while preparing to impeach their president, U.S. Ambassador Stephen D. Mull observed from Vilnius.

“That Lithuanian democracy carried the day and carried the nation through this ordeal is testament to Lithuania’s maturity,” he wrote in the latest edition of the newsletter of the Joint Baltic American National Committee.

“Democracy has taken root in Lithuania and the economy has blossomed. … Lithuania has become a land of freedom, opportunity and the rule of law.”

Mr. Mull also praised the former Soviet-occupied nation as a “firm” ally of the United States, supporting the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan and working to prevent terrorism within its borders.

“They repeatedly proved themselves in every field as one of America’s most reliable and stalwart friends,” he said. “We are lucky to have them as an ally.

He noted that as Lithuania’s flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels, the Parliament was preparing to impeach President Rolandas Paksas. He was accused of having ties to Russian mobsters and removed from office.

Swedish optimist

Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson is the kind of man President Bush likes.

“The prime minister has got a clear vision about freedom and opportunity, and he’s an optimistic person,” Mr. Bush told reporters last week after talks with the Swedish leader at the White House.

Mr. Persson said the two had discussed Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, the Middle East and U.S.-European relations.

“We can discuss them because we are both democrats, and we are strongly in favor of freedom and building democratic institutions,” he said when asked how a socialist prime minister and a conservative Republican president could get along.

Diplomatic traffic

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