2024-04-07 02:19:33
“We inform you that the VSD has received information from the Ministry of the Interior about the results of the investigation and has informed Seimas member Matas Maldeikis about them. Considering the fact that no violations of the requirements for the protection of classified information were found during the investigation, no further actions will be taken by the VSD. The Presidency will not be appealed to if there is no reason for it,” VSD asserts in a comment sent to Elta.
However, the MP M. Maldeikis, who approached this institution at the end of last year, did not inquire about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but precisely about the president’s statements to the news portal tv3.lt. And in them, the head of the country mentioned that Petras Zapolskas and Kęstutis Kudzmanas participated in the competitions for the heads of the diplomatic representation in Poland. Soon after that, the signatory of the Act of March 11, Albinas Januška, questioned whether the country’s leader might not have revealed the secret of the service.
M. Maldeikis is convinced that a precedent has been set when appointing ambassadors: there will be no more discretion
Having received the answer to the request, M. Maldeikis, in turn, asserts that the verdict of the VSD will probably set a precedent for the future. The politician belonging to the Conservative faction does not rule out that with this decision of the department, the discretion of appointing ambassadors has ended.
In the future, M. Maldeikis notes, it may happen that ambassador appointments will be discussed publicly.
“This is the lesson of this history,” M. Maldeikis asserted to Elta.
“It was established that it was normal that he called out the names. Therefore, those who will announce their names in the future – this will be their normal decision,” said the politician.
“Everything is fine, I respect the decision, but it sets a precedent for other cases and we will have to put up with it, because decisions are made for more than one person,” the conservative concluded.
ELTA reminds that at the end of last year, when friction between the Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the appointment of an ambassador to Poland came to the public domain, information about possible candidates for this post appeared in the press – the names of diplomats Giedrius Puodžiūnas and Laimonas Tallat-Kelpšas were named. Later, the head of the country Gitanas Nausėda indicated a couple more diplomats who, according to him, took part in the selection for the heads of the diplomatic mission in Warsaw – these, according to G. Nausėda, are diplomats Petras Zapolskas and Kęstutis Kudzmanas.
Due to this decision of the president, conservative Matas Maldeikis appealed to the Department of State Security (VSD) and the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Secrets (PAKK), asking them to assess whether the head of the country did not disclose an official secret. In response to this appeal, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications commissioned the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct an internal investigation.
In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed the investigation into the names of the ambassadors that were made public at the end of March. It is reported that during the investigation it was not established that the information that appeared in the public space was leaked from the ranks of the ministry or its employees.
2024-04-07 02:19:33