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Russia's defense industry

Ambassador who announced supply of weapons to Kiev exceeded his powers — Lithuanian PM

Vilnius supports Kiev, but doesn't deliver weapons, Lithuania's PM said following a statement of Lithuania’s Ambassador to Ukraine who told reporters Vilnius was willing to provide weapons to Ukraine

Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius EPA/VALDA KALNINA

Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius

© EPA/VALDA KALNINA

VILNIUS, June 22. /TASS/. Vilnius renders different types of support to Ukraine but does not deliver weapons to Kiev, Lithuania’s Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said on Monday.

"We support Ukraine, but we do not deliver weapons," he said. His remarks came following a statement of Lithuania’s Ambassador to Ukraine Marius Janukonis who told reporters Vilnius was willing to provide necessary weapons to Ukraine. "I believe the Ambassador has exceeded his authority," Butkevicius noted, adding that as soon as Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius returned from a foreign business trip, "a separate conversation" on the Ambassador’s remarks would follow.

Lithuania is the only NATO member-country whose Foreign Minister formally admitted that it had previously supplied "elements of particular weapons" for the Ukrainian armed forces. However, he failed to specify what was meant by that.

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