By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania’s Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Thursday he would resign, after facing pressure to do so over his business ties to a company owned by his sister-in-law.
Paluckas in a statement said his “past mistakes” had hindered the work of his government.
“That is why I decided to take the quick and confident decision” to resign, he said in a statement.
Opposition parties in the Baltic country have criticised Paluckas for business dealings, in which a company he co-owns sold electric batteries to another firm owned by his sister-in-law, in a deal financed by a government agency.
Paluckas had in recent weeks denied any wrongdoing.
Last week, his sister-in-law’s company said it would decline the funding from the government but denied wrongdoing, saying it made purchases from Paluckas’ business following an open tender.
A junior party in Lithuania’s government on Wednesday threatened to quit the ruling coalition unless Paluckas resigned, saying his position was untenable.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette Baum)
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