Lithuanian President Nauseda has stripped his former electoral rival of his state award

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has signed a decree to revoke the state award of former presidential candidate Eduardas Vaitkus. This was reported on May 27 by the Baltnews portal, with reference to Nauseda's office.

"On the recommendation of the Council on State Awards, Gitanas Nauseda signed a decree on the exclusion of Eduardas Vaitkus from the list of knights of the Order of Gediminas," the publication says in the Telegram channel.

Vaitkus was stripped of his state award after his statements about the Lithuanian presidential election last May. He questioned their legitimacy, calling Nauseda's victory "illegal." In addition, he stated that Lithuania is "moving towards the destruction of the Lithuanian people and statehood."

As noted, Vaitkus is a medical doctor by training. He was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in 2004.

In an interview with the ELTA news agency on May 3 last year, Vaitkus stated that Crimea belongs to Russia, since the inhabitants of the peninsula voted in favor of its annexation in a referendum. In his opinion, Western countries "let the genie out of the bottle" when they recognized the unilaterally alienated Kosovo.