President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė met with U.S. Senator Richard Durbin.

The President underlined at the meeting that the United States was Lithuania's key partner within NATO and a strategic partner in developing cooperation in the area of security.

“Our countries are united by good and intensive bilateral relations and common goals within NATO. This opens up good opportunities for strengthening our political and economic relations and cooperating more closely in implementing the provisions of NATO's strategic concept,” President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

As the Senator intends to visit Belarus, he was interested in how the President sees the situation in Belarus following the presidential election on 19 December 2010. The President said the policy of isolation of Belarus failed to produce the desired results and facilitate the formation of the civic society. The President informed Senator Durbin of her letter to leaders of the European Union in which she urges them to look for ways to facilitate visa regime for Belarusian people, no matter what sanctions might be imposed on the government of the country.

President Grybauskaitė thanked the Senator, who is of the Lithuanian descent, for his long and continuous support to Lithuania.