Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis is still analysing the ethics watchdog’s ruling regarding Lithuania’s ambassador to the United Kingdom Eitvydas Bajarūnas, but does not think he could return to the embassy in London.
The minister’s comment came after the Chief Official Ethics Commission (VTEK) ruled on Tuesday that President Gitanas Nausėda and Bajarūnas placed themselves in a conflict of interest situation when the embassy paid for their tickets to a theatre performance in London.
“We don’t have a decision yet; we’re analysing the material and consulting with the VTEK. If decisions are needed, we’ll inform you,” Landsbergis told reporters on Wednesday.
The minister reiterated, however, that he does not think that Bajarūnas could return to his duties as ambassador to the UK, given previous complaints from the embassy staff and an investigation into his behaviour.
“We have had many complaints about mistreatment of staff,” he said. “I believe that this alone should have been enough for the state authorities to agree that this person should not continue working in such a position.”
According to Landsbergis, the decision on Bajarūnas is in Nausėda’s hands. The minister said that the ambassador’s suspension from duties will continue “until another legal solution is found”.
During Nausėda’s visit to London last spring, Bajarūnas invited the president and his wife to see the Phantom of the Opera performance and bought the tickets with the embassy’s money.
The ambassador later said that it was a misunderstanding, which he rectified by reimbursing the expenses with his personal funds. The tickets cost 1,600 euros.
The VTEK investigation looked into whether the theatre visit was directly related to the performance of the president and ambassador’s official duties.
VTEK Chairman Gediminas Sakalauskas told reporters on Tuesday that the probe found that “the event was private and did not involve any official meetings with representatives or leaders of other countries”.
In October last year, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis signed a ministerial order suspending the functions of Bajarūnas in the UK following accusations of abuse in the embassy.
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