The Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, passed a resolution on Wednesday, saying it was not “politically appropriate” to ratify the European Union's (EU) cooperation agreement with Cuba. Lithuania remains the only member state not to have ratified the deal.
In the document, the Seimas “states strongly and unequivocally that the regime of the Republic of Cuba and its relations with the Russian Federation, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Islamic Republic of Iran and support to terrorist organisations financed through drug trafficking pose a threat to neighbouring countries and societies of the Latin American region”.
“The government of Cuba cannot be encouraged to keep following the same old tracks while keeping silent about the said realities,” the document says, and “it is not politically appropriate to ratify the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between the EU and Cuba”.
The resolution was passed by 82 votes in favour and 17 abstentions.
The resolution also claims that Cuba is pursuing a “dangerous regional strategy” and “oppression of the people of the Republic of Cuba”.
The draft resolution was submitted by 35 MPs, including Parliament Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Žygimantas Pavilionis, conservative MPs Emanuelis Zingeris, Laima Liucija Andrikienė and others.
Earlier, the US administration called on Lithuania not to ratify the EU-Cuba pact.
Lithuania remains the only EU member states yet to ratify the agreement signed in 2016.
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