VILNIUS, August 23, BNS–Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is arriving in Lithuania for an historic visit Thursday.

Netanyahu’s four-day visit is aimed at securing greater support from the Baltic countries for pressure on Iran and paying tribute to the Jewish heritage in Lithuania.

Lithuania would like Israel to take a tougher stance toward Russia.

“We need to better understand each other’s security policy challenges, because security is indivisible, and problems in one region can move to other regions, too,” Government vice-chancellor Deividas Matulionis told BNS.

Lithuanian prime minister Saulius Skvernelis and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet for talks Thursday evening before being joined by Latvian and Estonian counterparts Friday. Netanyahu is also to meet Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite Friday.

Other issues to be discussed during what will be the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to Lithuania include cooperation in tourism, innovation and cyber-security.

Netanyahu is to meet with members of the local Jewish community in the Vilnius synagogue and to attend a ceremony at the Ponar Memorial Complex, and to award the Righteous among the Nations medal to the Visciai family.

The Israeli prime minister also plans to visit the Vilna Gaon’s grave at the Sudervės road cemetery in Vilnius.

Vilnius has been among the strongest diplomatic supporters of Israel in Europe due in part to Lithuania’s Holocaust history and coordination of positions with the United States. Lithuanian diplomats have had to manoeuvre between the diverging positions of the EU and the US on more than one occasion. In solidarity with Europe Vilnius does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and supports the Iranian nuclear deal, despite opposition from the US and Israel.

Over 200,000 Jews lived in Lithuania before World War II, but more than 90 percent of them were killed during the Nazi occupation.

Around 3,000 Jews currently live in Lithuania. The country also seeks to strengthen ties with the Litvaks–Jews with roots in the present-day Lithuania and its historical lands–all around the world.

Netanyahu also has Litvak roots; his grandfather was born in Kreva in what is now Belarus.