The “Imperial” Diplomacy of Lithuania
The “Imperial” Diplomacy of Lithuania

Summary/Abstract: The forthcoming membership of Lithuania in NATO and the EU prompts a review of the foreign policy priorities of Lithuania, adjusting to the new political realities and fresh opportunities. It has apparently been decided what Lithuania will do upon becoming a part of the European Union and NATO: first of all, relations with Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and the coun- tries of South Caucasus will be developed. The essential difference between the new and the old foreign policy priorities is easy to spot when compar- ing them. If before, seeking to gain membership in the EU and NATO, the Lithuanian state was primarily preoccupied with itself, then the development of relations with the above-mentioned states constitutes a qualitative change in the foreign policy: perhaps for the first time since the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuania is seeking to become a regional state, and its foreign policy is acquiring the features of an “imperial policy”. Therefore, in discussing the prospects of this kind of foreign policy, it is not unjustified to turn to the past – to the times of “imperial” Lithuania.

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