Embassies to Portugal, Bulgaria, Belgium, Belarus, India, Armenia, and Austria are currently headed by chargés d'affaires rather than ambassadors.
Rasa Jakilaitienė, adviser to the foreign minister, said that the decision to designate chargés d'affaires as temporary heads of some diplomatic missions was made during the economic crisis as an alternative to possible closure of the embassies.
In her words, procedures of appointing heads of embassies to India, Belarus, Armenia, and Austria have already been started. Diplomat Laimonas Talat-Kelpša is proposed as ambassador to India, ambassador-at-large Evaldas Ignatavičius may be appointed to Belarus. Four new ambassadors should be appointed before the start of Lithuania's presidency over the European Council in July, while the remaining three embassies should be headed by acting diplomats for now.
