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  The geopolitical situation in our region is in a state of flux and small nations like Georgia and Lithuania should always look for new “moves” that would allow them to escape the dilemma of “how to end the ongoing game” for freedom and independence, which started 20 years ago: “in a draw or defeated”, asks Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania Evaldas Ignatavičius.He used the lines of his recent poem "Endgame" in a public lecture at the Ilia State University in Tbilisi this Friday.

 This lecture closed the Lithuania Days in Saqartvelo program that started last Monday.

During the week, Lithuanian diplomats, non-governmental activists, scientists, music and TV stars visited seven municipalities in Georgia, where they met with the local communities and told the stories about the Lithuanian nature, culture, history and everyday life of ordinary people.

According to Ignatavičius, membership of NATO and the European Union is not the only source of lasting freedom and independence. Magnetism of the values cherished by a society is also important.

"In a week full of events we have been convinced more than once that the traditions are alive and very strong at even the most remote corners of Georgia. This concerns how Georgians receive guests, how they respect their families and cultural traditions. They serve as the moral guidelines and make Georgia attractive in the same way as the successful reforms carried out in recent years do," says Ignatavičius.

"Sometimes more economically advanced societies of NATO and the EU are more apathetic and less tolerant than Georgians who have survived four wars in less than two decades. Apparently, there is something to think about," claims the Lithuanian diplomat.

During the working visit Ignatavičius also met with Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili and other senior officials. He also attended a Lithuania-Georgia poetry evening and Tbilisi city festival "Tbilisoba" events.

The project "Lithuanian Days in Saqartvelo” is implemented by a Lithuanian NGO East European Studies Center and sponsored by the Lithuanian government.