If the finance minister trusts his deputy Valentin Gavrilov, who celebrates the Soviet Victory Day on May 9, the latter can stay in his position, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has said.
“I have confidence in the finance minister, and if the minister has confidence in the deputy minister, then he can perform his duties,” Paluckas told reporters at the Seimas on Monday.
“What he does at home and what cultural characteristics he has for commemorating various occasions, he could leave it at home as the key thing is what value he can bring as a deputy finance minister. [...] If he needs a lesson in historical memory, we will surely find someone who will teach him,” he added.
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Meanwhile, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said that Gavrilov should make it clear that he is on the “right side of history”.
“It is one thing to talk about a citizen Gavrilov and his views, but it is another thing to talk about a political trust official Gavrilov. Of course, as a citizen, he can celebrate whatever holidays he wants, but as an official, he should not raise questions neither to the leaders of the state, nor to the people of Lithuania, which side he is on,” Nausėda told journalists at the Seimas on Monday.
“I very much want to believe that he is on the right side of history, but he should make it clearer so that nobody has the slightest doubt. But so far this has not been done, so the questions remain open,” the president added.
Speaking with BNS last week, Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius said he had no doubts about Gavrilov’s loyalty to Lithuania.
“I do not doubt his loyalty to the State of Lithuania and his qualifications, and that is the only explanation, the only comment,” Šadžius said on Friday.
His remarks followed media reports about Gavrilov’s Victory Day commemorations at Antakalnis Cemetery. For his part, Gavrilov said May 9 was very important to his family and he would continue to commemorate it.
Last Friday, the presidential office called Gavrilov’s position on May 9 incomprehensible and unjustifiable.
On Monday, Gavrilov changed his position and said his family will now honour the victims of the war on May 8.
“I am well aware that the official position entails a certain responsibility to represent the position of the whole Lithuanian society and state. If we are talking about the end of the Second World War in Europe, May 8 is a clear date when it can be commemorated in Lithuania,” the deputy finance minister told the Elta news agency.
The Western world, including Lithuania, commemorates the end of the Second World War on May 8, when Germany signed the surrender act in 1945. Lithuania did not become free at the end of the war because it was occupied by the Soviet Union.
Russia uses the Victory Day of May 9 to spread its propaganda and ideology.
Gavrilov was appointed deputy finance minister this week. In the team of social democrat Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius, he is in charge of financial policy, European Union issues, and international relations.
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