Lithuania Lodges 'Strong Protest' with Russia over Red Paint Attack on Embassy in Moscow

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed a "strong protest" to Russia over the attack on the country's embassy in Moscow, which was doused with red paint on 12 July.

This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its website.

The ministry summoned the counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius, Andrei Gasyuk, and handed him a note of strong protest over the incident.

In its note, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry demanded that Russia comply with all its international obligations, including the provisions of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that the receiving state must take all necessary measures to protect the premises of a diplomatic mission from any intrusion or damage, and to prevent any violation of the inviolability of the mission or humiliation.

In addition, the Foreign Ministry demands that the Russian Federation immediately take all necessary measures to ensure the security and inviolability of the embassy premises and its property, to investigate the act of vandalism and bring the perpetrators to justice. It also asked for an explanation of why Russian security officers did not respond to the attack and how it will be ensured that such attacks and negligence of the embassy security staff will not be repeated in the future.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, early on Monday morning, four unidentified masked men poured red paint on the entrance to the Lithuanian Embassy in Moscow. The Russian police officers who provided external security for the embassy did not respond to the attack, and the called police arrived more than half an hour later.

Russian law enforcement officials have not yet reported any arrests of those responsible for the incident with the Lithuanian Embassy in Moscow.

In early July, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned representatives of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius and handed over a note of protest in connection with the violation of Lithuanian airspace by a Russian aircraft.