At the initiative of the French, Lithuanian and Swedish Delegations to the OSCE, Ambassadors and Delegates from 15 participating states met today in Vienna to launch an informal OSCE Group of Friends on Safety of Journalists.

On 20 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius and the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze co-chaired the 13th meeting of the Lithuania-Ukraine Commission for European Integration in Vilnius.

On 19 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius received the new Rector of the European Humanities University (EHU), Prof. Sergei Ignatov. The meeting focused on the EHU’s further work.

On 19 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the new Ambassador of Afghanistan to Lithuania Gul Hussain Ahmadi.

On 17 April, the European Commission published the annual Enlargement package, as well as assessed progress on reforms in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius highlighted the importance of the EU open door policy and welcomed progress made by South-eastern European countries.

Lithuania, along with Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Djibouti, Cameroon, Canada, Luxembourg, Morocco, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan and France, has been elected as member of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for the 2019-2021 term.

"Our response to Russian provocations after the events in Salsbery remains united and coordinated, we all understand the need to strengthen the resilience of our countries in the face of modern threats. The role of the European External Action Service’s Eastern Strategic Communications Division (StratComm) is particularly important – we need to evaluate the work of this team and to constantly improve it," said Linkevičius in a discussion on relations with Russia, during which EU Foreign Ministers discussed prospects for the near future and further joint actions following the events in the city of Salisbury, the United Kingdom.

“It’s important to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but that is not enough. The targeted airstrikes on chemical weapons facilities of 14 April were necessary steps for encouraging the Syrian regime and its supporters to seek a political solution to the conflict,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius said at the Foreign Affairs Council on 16 April in Luxembourg.

Lithuanian MFA supports actions by the US, UK and France against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities. Use of chemical weapons in Syria crossed all possible red lines. Those responsible for use of chemical weapons against civil population, including children, must be held accountable.

On 12 April, the first Lithuania-Saudi Arabia business forum took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The participants signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at promoting bilateral business relations between the two countries.