VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting Friday with three Baltic prime ministers in his quest to counterbalance European criticism of Israel's actions in the occupied Palestinian territories and to increase pressure on Iran.
Netanyahu will hold talks with Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, Estonia's Juri Ratas and Maris Kucinskis of Latvia. He started the day by meeting Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.
A day earlier, he said that Israel was "often mistreated by the EU," adding there were "many distortions." Netanyahu, however, welcomed the decision by major international airlines to end their direct flights to Iran's capital, Tehran, in September after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and began restoring U.S. sanctions.
Skvernelis said in an interview with the Baltic News Service that after a meeting Thursday with Netanyahu, "I believe Lithuania really has a better understanding of Israel and that understanding could be spread among other EU countries. "
"We need to better listen, hear them out and understand their position. We definitely lack a direct dialogue," he said.
"But we have to admit that today Israel is not only waging war and defending its independence, the lives of its people, but is also fighting in a wider context, if we speak about terrorism and potential expansion of IS fighters to Europe," Skvernelis said.
Netanyahu arrived Thursday in Vilnius is on a four-day visit, the first to Lithuania by an Israeli prime minister.
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