FM: US understands Lithuania’s need to restore ties with Beijing for economic security - BNS EXCLUSIVE

VILNIUS - The United States "understands" Lithuania's need to restore diplomatic relations with Beijing, while working alongside Vilnius and the European Union (EU) to achieve economic security, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has said.

"The United States, as far as it was discussed here,... fully understands the need for diplomatic representation. This is not something that carries any inherent moral weight," the Lithuanian top diplomat told BNS on Thursday night from Washington.

"We discussed how we - Lithuania, the European Union, and the United States - should together ensure our economic security against actors such as China, which manipulates supply conditions, creates industrial overcapacity, distorts the market, imposes restrictions on access to its market, and so on. How can we level all that playing field?" Budrys stressed.