Lithuania Designates Russia as a State Supporting and Perpetrating Terrorism

On May 10th, the Lithuanian parliament voted unanimously to designate Russia’s war against Ukraine as genocide and to designate Russia as a state that supports and perpetrates terrorism. The resolution was passed with 128 votes in favor, 0 votes against, and 0 abstentions. The resolution calls upon the international community to establish a Special International Criminal Tribunal to issue international arrest warrants. The warrants are not subject to the immunity of the State or the immunity of the heads of State and Government and other public officials.

In addition, on Nov 18th, 2021 Taiwan opened a representative office under its name in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Even in the face of economic pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, Lithuania has taken a firm stance in supporting Taiwan. It was one of the first countries to announce its refusal to participate in and diplomatically boycotted the Beijing Winter Olympics. On Apr 3rd, Lithuanian announced the suspension of all Russian gas imports in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, becoming the first EU country to gain energy independence from Russia.

Analysts pointed out that despite Lithuania’s small size, this small Baltic State has demonstrated great courage to uphold justice and fight against the evil dictatorship.