The majority of Lithuanians trivialise news about deteriorating Polish-Lithuanian relations, shows a survey published today by the country’s largest Lithuanian daily, Lietuvos Rytas.

Almost a half of the 4,000 respondents believe that Poland is not worth making a fuss about, with 42 percent of the readers expressing the opinion that “Poland is not the hub of the universe, not worth being bothered by,” claiming that Lithuania should “first of all look after its own interests.”

Thirty-two percent of respondents claimed that shifting “relations between states is a natural process” and that “once those in power are replaced by new authorities, bilateral ties will transform as well.”

Almost every fifth of the surveyed readers indicated Poland as a close and significant neighbour, relations with whom had an impact on the nation’s welfare.

According the survey, seven percent of the respondents are not concerned with international relations, while affairs going on in “the country’s own backyard” were of utmost importance.

Polish-Lithuanian ties have seen a significant corrosion since Lithuania declared independence in the early 1990s. Tension between the two countries has recently escalated when a new education law was passed in the Lithuanian parliament, introducing Lithuanian as the language of instruction for selected subjects in schools for Polish minorities. (aba/jb)

Source: PAP