Lithuanian Speaker Gedvilas Rebuts Clinton on Russia, Radio Says

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Bryan Bradley – January 4, 2013)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s opposition to Russia’s growing economic might in Europe wasn’t practical, Vydas Gedvilas, the head of Lithuania’s new parliament, said in an interview with Russian radio.

The international influence of Russian businesses is an economic reality that European countries must separate from politics and deal with pragmatically, Gedvilas, whose Labor Party joined a coalition government after October elections, said on Radio Svoboda yesterday.

Lithuania, which relies on neighboring Russia for supplies of natural gas, electricity and crude oil, must focus on the interests of its own people rather that those of the U.S., “which is very far away,” Gedvilas said.

The Baltic nation needs to “reboot” its relations with Russia, like Finland and Germany have done, to improve economic ties and let Russia manage its own democratic processes, he said in the radio interview.