„All the insinuations that have nothing to do with reality hurt the most. It is attempted to initiate a political discourse,“ Landsbergis said in an interview to the news agency ELTA on Wednesday.
„Anyone who has purchased real estate, especially not in the home country, probably realises that it takes a long time to acquire real estate. We started looking for property, as did many other families of acquaintances, during the COVID-19 [pandemic],“ said Landsbergis.
According to him, some people were looking to buy homesteads assuming that the pandemic might continue and thus it would be good to have one. The politician said that his family started looking for a property in 2020 and a real estate agency offered one in 2021.
„The assets were declared based on all the requirements. Money was declared, expenses were declared. Nobody concealed anything. I would like to stress that this is private property,“ he added.
Furthermore, Landsbergis said he was not talking about his home in Lithuania either for security reasons as his underage children live there.
„Naturally, politicians have certain privacy boundaries, too. One would expect them to be respected, so that people who are not directly related to politics, children and the spouse, would have the right to privacy,“ he said.
The foreign minister added that what hurt the most were insinuations claiming that the timing of the purchase coincided with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Landsbergis said that both his family and he are ready to defend Lithuania if needed. The foreign minister noted that one of his sons has completed military service and is in the reserve, while another one is currently serving.
„My place is in Lithuania, I defend Lithuania using the tools I have been granted by voters, those which I can craft myself. I intend to continue doing so and my family will do so as well,“ the politician stated.
The minister expressed his discontent that someone used a drone to take pictures of his home in Greece, which were published and then he was asked for comments.
„This is a private house, a private space. In my opinion, this was inappropriate behaviour,“ said Landsbergis.
News website lrytas.lt last week reported that Landsbergis’ family purchased a luxurious villa in the Greek island of Aegina. According to the website, property is registered in the name of minister’s wife Austėja Landsbergienė. It has transpired that she made an advance payment of EUR 225,000 for the property in Greece in February 2022, which coincided with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In her asset declarations for 2022 and 2023, Landsbergienė indicated to own real estate abroad valued EUR 795,000.