Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has voiced her confidence in Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas after he came under fire for publishing allegedly restricted-use information on Facebook.
"I trust the minister, and I have discussed this situation with him,” Šimonytė said in a written comment to BNS.
Last week, Anušauskas was criticised by the president and other officials after disclosing Lithuania’s plans to purchase German Leopard tanks instead of their American or South Korean counterparts. He posted about the country’s choice on his personal Facebook account following a meeting of the State Defence Council. Anušauskas denies the information was marked as restricted-use.
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Opposition MP Agnė Širinskienė later turned to the General Prosecutor's Office asking to investigate the incident. The office is still considering her request.
“To the best of my knowledge, the information presented at the State Defence Council, which is specifically classified under the legislation regulating this matter, was not disclosed by the minister," Šimonytė added.
The prime minister added she saw no reason to demand the minister's resignation.
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