Wednesday night's events on the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, were shocking, said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
“The country, which is the bastion of democracy, is being tested,” Landsbergis told reporters on Thursday when asked to comment on the storming of the US Congress by Donald Trump's supporters.
On Wednesday night, Landsbergis used Trump's own slogan to comment on the events in Washington, DC. “America, please get actually great again, asap. Concerned, World.”
America, please get actually great again, asap. Concerned, World.
— Gabrielius Landsbergis (@GLandsbergis) January 6, 2021
Lithuanian leaders have been reluctant to criticise Trump, even when he seemed to be doubting the purpose of NATO which the Baltic states see as the cornerstone of their security.
Asked whether Trump should take responsibility for the events on the Capitol Hill, Landsbergis said there were many “sources of responsibility”. He named social media as the site that helped radicalise people and spread preposterous theories.
“The essential thing now is that the new administration will start work in two weeks and I hope that these two weeks will help things calm down and the country [US] will enter a new chapter in its life,” Landsbergis said. “And I am sure that they will themselves sensibly sort out who is responsible.”
Lithuania and other countries are looking up to the US to set the standard for democratic rule and so expect the country itself to live up to it, he said.
“This is America's greatness. Several hundred years of uninterrupted democratic rule and peaceful transition of power – this is an example of how things should be,” Landsbergis said.
“I cannot imagine a world where confidence in US democracy could be shaken. This would be a huge blow to that state,” he added. “I hope that the coming two weeks will calm emotions down.”
On Thursday, Landsbergis is scheduled to have a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Asked whether they would talk about Wednesday's events, Landsbergis said that they might touch on the subject “in one or two words”, but Pompeo would probably not want to discuss it in detail.
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda has also expressed hope that the US can survive the crisis.
"Peaceful transition of power is a sign of mature democracy which is the United States. Rule of Law is not the rule of the street,” Nausėda tweeted late on Wednesday. “We strongly believe in the supremacy of democratic values in our ally country.”
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