bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda won re-election by a landslide in a vote marked by defence concerns over neighbouring Russia, official results showed.
The count published by the electoral commission on Sunday showed that Nauseda won 74.6 per cent of votes with 90 per cent of ballots counted after polls closed in the second-round vote.
Voters “have handed me a great mandate of trust and I am well aware that I will have to cherish this,” Nauseda, 60, told journalists in Vilnius.
“Now that I have five years of experience, I believe that I will certainly be able to use this jewel properly, first of all to achieve the goals of welfare for all the people of Lithuania,” he said.

His opponent, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, won 23.8 per cent of the vote and congratulated Nauseda in comments to reporters.
The Lithuanian president steers defence and foreign policy, attending EU and Nato summits, but must consult with the government and parliament on appointing the most senior officials.
While the candidates agree on defence, they share diverging views on Lithuania’s relations with China, which have been strained for years over Taiwan.
Both candidates agree that the Nato and EU member of 2.8 million people should boost defence spending to counter the perceived threat from Russia, and to that end the government recently proposed a tax increase.
“Lithuania’s independence and freedom is like a fragile vessel that we must cherish, protect and prevent from cracking,” Nauseda told journalists late Sunday.
“With the re-election of Gitanas Nauseda, we will see continuity in foreign and security policy, areas where the president will try to remain active,” Rima Urbonaite, a political analyst at Mykolas Romeris university, said.
Vilnius fears it could be next in the cross hairs if Moscow were to win its war against Ukraine.
Lithuania is a significant donor to Ukraine, which has been battling Russia since the 2022 invasion. It is already a big defence spender, with a military budget equal to 2.75 per cent of GDP.

It intends to purchase tanks and additional air defence systems, and to host a German brigade, as Berlin plans to complete the stationing of around 5,000 troops by 2027.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was one of the first leaders to congratulate Nauseda.
“You have been by our side every day and night throughout these most difficult years,” Zelensky wrote on social media platform X.
“I am confident that working together, we will ensure freedom, peace, and security in Ukraine, the Baltic states, and throughout our Europe.”
Pensioner Ausra Vysniauskiene said she voted for Nauseda.
“He’s an intelligent man, he speaks many languages, he’s educated, he’s a banker,” the 67-year-old.


“I want men to lead, especially when the threat of war is so big.”
Simonyte, the 49-year-old candidate of the ruling conservatives, was running for president again after losing to Nauseda in the last presidential ballot.
The uneasy relationship between Nauseda and Simonyte’s conservatives has at times triggered foreign policy debates, most notably on Lithuania’s relations with China.
Bilateral ties turned tense in 2021, when Vilnius allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy under the island’s name – a departure from the common diplomatic practice of using the name of the capital Taipei to avoid angering Beijing.
China, which considers self-ruled Taiwan a part of its territory, downgraded diplomatic relations with Vilnius and blocked its exports, leading some Lithuanian politicians to urge a restoration of relations for the sake of the economy.
Nauseda sees the need to change the name of the representative office, while Simonyte pushed back against it.
But voters also cited personal differences between the candidates, as well as economic policy and human rights.
Simonyte drew support from liberal voters in bigger cities and traditional conservative voters.
A fiscal conservative with liberal views on social issues, she notably supports same-sex partnerships, a controversial issue in the predominantly Catholic country.
“I would like to see faster progress, more openness … more tolerance for people who are different from us,” she said when casting an early vote.
Nauseda, who maintains a moderate stance on nearly all issues, has established himself as a promoter of the welfare state, with conservative views on gay rights.


Centre-left tipped to take power as Lithuanians vote

US, EU raise alarm over China’s ‘very substantial’ support for Russia in Ukraine war

China’s economic coercion evokes greater scrutiny and resentment, senior US officials say

EU firms resist European Commission plan to screen private investment in China

Lithuania

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda re-elected in vote marked by Russia fears

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda celebrates victory. Photo: AP

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda at a Lithuanian-Polish military exercise in April. Photo: AFP

Lithuania’s Gitanas Nauseda (left) with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and other regional leaders in Kyiv in 2022. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service 

France’s Macron makes plea to defend democracy on Germany state visit

France’s President Emmanuel Macron holds a baby in Berlin, Germany on Sunday. Photo: dpa via AP

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Germany. Photo: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron toasts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the state banquet in Berlin. Photo: AFP

China has ‘huge responsibility’ to reshape world order, reform global bodies like UN, WTO: foreign envoys to Beijing

German ambassador  Patricia Flor addresses the envoys’ round table in Beijing. Photo: Centre for China and Globalisation

Why China’s Russia ties are in sharp focus as Xi Jinping visits Europe

Chinese President Xi Jinping  and his wife Peng Liyuan wave from Tarbes airport in southwestern France, on Tuesday where French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Xi  in the Pyrenees mountains. Photo: AFP

Xi Jinping and France’s President Emmanuel Macron attend a ceremony in France on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

British defence minister says China plans to provide Russia with ‘lethal aid’ for Ukraine war

British defence secretary Grant Shapps speaking Wednesday at the London Defence Conference at King’s College London. Photo: King’s College/dpa

Local resident at a site of a Russian air strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House on Wednesday. Photo: AP

News

World

Europe

Gitanas Nauseda elected to a second, five-year term as rival Ingrida Simonyte concedes defeat
Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the presidential campaign in the Nato member nation of 2.8 million


Gitanas Nauseda elected to a second, five-year term as rival Ingrida Simonyte concedes defeat. Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the presidential campaign in the Nato member nation of 2.8 million.


Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda re-elected in vote marked by Russia fears

Gitanas Nauseda elected to a second, five-year term as rival Ingrida Simonyte concedes defeat Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the presidential campaign in the Nato member nation of 2.8 million

Gitanas Nauseda elected to a second, five-year term as rival Ingrida Simonyte concedes defeat

Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated the presidential campaign in the Nato member nation of 2.8 million