Pukszto: The next Parliament will have to rebuild the relations with Poland

The meeting of the Polish and the Lithuanian presidents in Croatia is not a breakthrough when it comes to the relationship between Vilnius and Warsaw, the Lithuanian political scientists say.

“This is a second-level meeting when the Presidents meet to discuss. However, this does not replace an official visit to the country when special attention is given to this country and different issues are discussed,” said Andrzej Pukszto.

The political scientist pointed out that the relations between the two countries are very distant at the highest level because there are no official visits of Presidents, Prime Ministers or Foreign Ministers.

Pukszto believes that a breakthrough could occur after the autumn elections. “I am pleased that the dialogue starts because there are a lot of common issues. Let us hope that the next steps regarding the relations between the presidents will be taken. However, I would like to point out that also at the parliamentary level there is small activity in relations with Poland. One of the biggest challenges for the new Parliament should be the restoration of relations with Poland “- suggested the political scientist.

The manager of the Center for Eastern Europe Studies, Linas Kojala, stressed that the relations have been distant for a long time. Therefore, the first Andrzej Duda’s official visit was made to Estonia. Kojala added that without resolving certain issues the relations will remain distant. The only positive thing about the Polish-Lithuanian relations is that both of the countries have the same vision when it comes to security and geopolitics.