Euro Seen as Shield by Lithuanian Banker Wary of Russia: Economy

On the eve of Lithuania’s euro adoption, the Baltic country’s top banker says Russia’s actions in Ukraine have pushed him into forbidden territory.

“The euro is an instrument for our deeper integration: the closer we are to the West, the further we are from the east,” Vitas Vasiliauskas said in an interview in Vilnius, the capital. “As a central bank governor, I shouldn’t get myself involved in geopolitical discussions. But these are the facts today.”