VILNIUS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- More than half of Lithuanians said they do not trust Washington's efforts to mediate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a new survey commissioned by the Baltic News Service (BNS) and conducted by the public opinion research firm Vilmorus.
As reported by the BNS on Monday, the poll revealed that 52.3 percent of respondents either distrust or somewhat trust the U.S. role in peace negotiations. In contrast, only 23.3 percent expressed trust or some degree of trust in U.S. mediation efforts.
Remigijus Motuzas, chair of the Lithuanian parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and a member of the Social Democratic Party, attributed the growing scepticism to unmet public expectations.
"People in Lithuania understandably hoped for quicker action and results. It was promised that the war would end within 100 days, then we heard there would be negotiations, and so on. The latest talks in Istanbul, for example, have not lived up to those hopes and have fuelled distrust," Motuzas told BNS.
Supporters of Ukraine were further disappointed in March when Washington's decision to temporarily halt military aid to Kyiv followed a public confrontation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
Adding to the negative sentiment, this week's release of the 2025 Global Democracy Perception Index revealed a decline in the U.S. global standing. According to BNS, the number of countries where the United States is viewed more positively than negatively dropped from 76 percent to 45 percent. ■
