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Saturday, April 10, Vilnius - President Dalia Grybauskaitė attended a Holy Mass celebrated at Vilnius Cathedral in remembrance of those who died in the Smolensk air crash, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and other high ranking Polish officials.

After the Holy Mass, President Grybauskaitė visited the Polish Embassy where she left a message in the book of condolences: "Lithuania mourns together with you. Poland has lost a great statesman, while Lithuania has lost a close friend."

Dalia Grybauskaitė sent a letter of condolences addressed to Bronisław Komorowski, Marshal of the Sejm and Acting President of Poland, expressing sympathy to the Polish people:

"In the face of this terrible and tragic plane accident, I extend my sincere condolences to President Kaczyński's mother Jadwiga, brother Jaroslaw and daughter Marta, and to all the people of Poland.

The death of the Polish President and those who were flying with him is a huge loss not only to Poland, but also to the whole of Europe.

The Polish President was my close friend and a true friend of Lithuania and the people of Lithuania. From the moment that Lech Kaczyński became the President of Poland, his sincerity, integrity, ideals, and concrete actions served as a strong driving force for expanding dialogue and cooperation between our two nations. President Kaczyński offered the East European region a vision of open and democratic future, for which he spared no time or effort.

It was only two days ago, on April 8, that President Kaczyński and I met in Vilnius to discuss the possibilities of developing a strategic bilateral dialogue which would be advantageous not only to our two countries, but also the whole of Europe. We agreed to take concrete steps towards implementing the projects of importance to us all.

I firmly believe that President Kaczyński's vision and works accomplished will never be forgotten and that the initiatives we had agreed to carry through together will be realized.

Once again, I offer on behalf of myself and the people of Lithuania our heartfelt sympathy."

Press Service of the President