The Lithuanian Foreign Minister has announced that Lithuania is pulling out of what is called the ‘17 plus one’ grouping of Central and Eastern European countries with China. But the main reason is our membership at the European Union. We want Europe to speak in one strong voice, and in that sense the ‘17 plus one’ format became a divisive forum. This is not so unusual — around 15 European countries, and I think about 60 countries all have the trade missions in Taiwan. What is Lithuania’s stand on the Belt and Road Initiative, which is causing concerns in other European countries more recently, like Montenegro, over the debt incurred?

Source: The Hindu June 01, 2021 11:22 UTC