APPENDIX 3
Memorandum submitted by Embassy of the
Republic of Lithuania
Lithuania's integration into the European and
Trans-Atlantic institutions, as well as the maintenance of friendly
relations with neighbouring countries, Russia among them, are
the foreign policy priorities of our state.
We base our relations with Russia on the universally
recognized norms and principles of international law and the Lithuanian-Russian
Treaty on the Basis for Relations between the States, signed on
29 July 1991 and entered into force on 4 May 1992. The development
of bilateral co-operation is ensured by implementation of the
provisions and goals of this document, including the sovereign
right of each state to independently choose means of ensuring
its security and defence in ways they find acceptable, as well
as through the collective security arrangements. The parties of
the Treaty confirmed the continuity of Lithuanian statehood, declared
by the parliament of the Republic of Lithuania on 11 March 1990,
and pledged to refrain from the use of force and the treat of
the use of force in their mutual relations, to respect sovereignty,
territorial integrity and inviolability of their borders in accordance
with the principles of the OSCE.
In relations with the Russian Federation we
emphasize the importance of adherence to the principles enshrined
in the instruments of the OSCE, including commitments to observe
in political practice the principle that every state has the inherent
right to be free to choose or change its security arrangements,
including treaties of alliance as they evolve.
Lithuania has no border problems with Russia,
nor does it have problem in relation to its Russian ethnic population.
Lithuania has signed a border treaty with Russia on 24 October
1997. It granted the right to obtain Lithuanian citizenship for
all the inhabitants that resided in Lithuania up until the declaration
of the restoration of independence. Lithuanian citizens of Russian
origin, representing approximately 8 per cent of the population
in Lithuania, enjoy full social, cultural and linguistic autonomy
guaranteed by the Lithuanian laws and according to the international
standards.
Agreement on trade and economic relations, which
established Most Favoured Nation status for both states, as well
as agreements on avoidance of double taxation and on promotion
and protection of investment, which were signed during the recent
visit of Lithuanian Prime Minister to Moscow on 29 June 1999,
create necessary foundation for economic co-operation.
Turnover of Lithuania's foreign trade with Russia
for January-June 1999 amounted 563 million USD. Lithuania's export
to Russia amounted 100 million USD or 6.7 per cent of Lithuania's
total export (4th place). Import from Russia amounted 463 million
USD or 19.6 per cent of Lithuania's total import (1st place).
Chief exports from Lithuania to the Russian Federation in this
period looked as it follows: 17.2 per cent—machinery, mechanical
appliances and electrical equipment, 12.7 per cent—prepared
foodstuffs, 12.6 per cent—live animals, 12.1 per cent—vehicles,
aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment. The main
articles of import from Russia to Lithuania in January-June 1999:
57.5 per cent—mineral products (crude oil, natural gas,
etc.), 21.3 per cent—base metals and articles of base metals,
1.9 per cent—plastics, rubber and articles thereof, 1.4
per cent—machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical
equipment.
Confronted with the fall in demand and depreciation
of the Russian currency, Lithuania's export to the Russian Federation
from mid-1998 to mid-1999 decreased significantly and was reoriented
to the European Union market.
According to the 1 April 1999 statistics the
foreign direct investment in Lithuania by the Russian Federation
amounted to 22 million USD or 1.23 per cent of total FDI in Lithuania.
Lithuania's relations with Kaliningrad region
of the Russian Federation hold a distinct place in the bilateral
relationship as well as in Lithuania's overall policy of encouraging
regional co-operation. The border between Lithuania and Kaliningrad
region is Lithuania's only common border with Russia. Lithuania
is linked with Kaliningrad through geographic proximity, mutual
economic interests, a long-standing Lithuanian cultural heritage
in the region and numerous human contacts.
Agreement between Lithuania and Russia on the
co-operation in economic, social and cultural development of the
Kaliningrad region entered into force in June 1992. A new agreement
on the co-operation between the regions of Lithuania and Kaliningrad
region was signed on 29 June 1999.
In 1993 the Consulate of the Republic of Lithuania
was established in Kaliningrad. From 1996 regular meetings of
the working group for co-operation between the regions of Lithuania
and Kaliningrad region take place in the framework of the Lithuanian-Russian
intergovernmental trade commission.
Reiterating Lithuania's interest in continuing
active political dialogue with Russia and developing mutually
beneficial practical co-operation in the field of economy, social,
cultural, educational, environmental and justice affairs, Lithuania
presented to the Russian party concrete suggestions as to further
development of Lithuanian-Russian relations, including:
— development of interparliamentary
relations;
— promoting contacts between non-governmental
organisations, support for arrangement of "round tables",
seminars and conferences on Lithuanian-Russian relations, regional,
European, and global issues.
— more intensive co-operation between
the regions of Lithuania and Kaliningrad region of the Russian
Federation, including:
the cross-border co-operation and developing regional
relations through the activities of Euroregions "Baltica",
"Nemunas" and "Saule"
preparation of co-ordinated proposals for PHARE and
TACIS cross-border co-operation programmes;
— implementation of concrete projects
on environmental protection, such as:
inclusion of the Kuronian Spit in the UNESCO World
Heritage list;
cleaning and deepening of the riverbed in the delta
of state frontier river Nemunas, lowering the level of pollution
of effluent waters, and organising a system to monitor the condition
of surface waters and exchange of information;
co-operation in addressing the natural disasters
and industrial accidents;
co-operation in the "The Baltic Sea Agenda 21"
programme, directing efforts to develop ecologically balanced
region around the Baltic Sea in the fields of energy, industry,
agriculture, wood processing, transport, fishery and tourism;
— co-ordination of actions aimed at
combating organised crime and improving border control.
During Lithuania's chairmanship of the Council
of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), where the United Kingdom enjoys from
April 1999 the status of observer, Lithuania devoted significant
attention to the development of co-operation with Russia's Northwest
and Kaliningrad regions, in particular the latter. The priority
action list included the following areas of attention:
— regional economic cooperation, especially
in the fields of investment, and growth of small and medium-sized
enterprises, as well as establishing of business information center;
— transport and energy infrastructure
development focusing on sustainable energy supply, integration
of energy markets and networking in the Baltic region, namely:
joint efforts in implementing projects of the middle
section of the trans-European corridor IX B, D;
building additional natural gas pipeline to Kaliningrad
region through the Lithuanian territory;
implementation of the shuttle-train project for transportation
of commodities by the Mukran (Germany)-Klaipeda (Lithuania)-Moscow
(Russia) route, accomplishment of Baltic Energy Ring project;
— co-operation in the sphere of education,
including:
Eurofaculty activities in Kaliningrad region;
student exchange programme between Vilnius and Kaliningrad
universities;
public administration teaching programme for Kaliningrad
region;
— regional cooperation in the area
of home and justice affairs and civic security, especially emphasising
efforts aimed at:
co-operation between the border patrol institutions;
improving infrustructure of the border-crossing posts;
creating a network of agreements on readmission between
the countries in the region;
combating illegal migration, organised crime, drug
trafficking and smuggling.
Welcoming the recent decision by the European
Union to adopt the Northern Dimension Initiative, which aims to
increase co-operation between the enlarging EU and Russia, Lithuania
invited all the members of the CBSS to give a special effort to
the development potential for practical action and encouraged
them to further the Northern Dimension Initiative of the European
Union, especially in the areas, where EU and CBSS activities are
complimentary: investment and trade, transport and energy, environmental
protection, education, health care, fighting organised crime and
border control, cross-border co-operation. In this respect, Lithuania
prepared list of the projects, based on above-mentioned examples,
which could become joint Lithuanian-Russian proposals for the
Northern Dimension Action Plan and contribute to the closer cooperation
between the European Union and the Russian Federation defined
in the EU Common Strategy on Russia.
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania
September 1999
| 
