Pranas Žukauskas, chairman of the commission, told reporters Wednesday that the recommendation was adopted unanimously. The commission failed to establish contact with Liepa even though she was informed weeks in advance about the planned sitting. A letter had been delivered to her address in Moscow and an email had been sent as well, but there was no response.
The decision to strip the Russian ballerina of Lithuanian citizenship was made on the grounds of the Law on Citizenship. It was concluded that she is a threat to national security and publicly supports a country that poses a threat to Lithuania’s national security and the interests of its allies.
The final decision on stripping citizenship will have to be made by President Gitanas Nausėda.
In November 2023, Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė addressed the president suggesting that Ms Liepa should lose Lithuanian citizenship that was granted by exception on 17 April 2000. The move came after the ballerina gave an interview to Russian media praising Vladimir Putin, referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine as a “special military operation” and expressing contempt for the West and its values.