Vilnius must find a compromise that allows Ukrainians and Belarusians to communicate with city authorities in their native languages, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said Wednesday, after the capital stopped accepting written requests and complaints in Russian.
“I believe that officially we should use the state language,” Olekas told the radio Žinių Radijas. “However, in such interactions, there are other nations whose languages have become more prevalent in Vilnius.”
He said he was primarily referring to Ukrainians and Belarusians, who “should not necessarily be forced to speak Russian”.
“It seems a compromise must be found for arriving people; a guest can be received in their own language,” Olekas said.
At the same time, people planning to live in Lithuania for an extended period should be encouraged to learn Lithuanian, he said.
