2 Ousted Consuls Meet Landsbergis

Two U.S. diplomats ordered by the Soviet government to leave Lithuania met for 35 minutes early today with the Baltic republic’s president after learning of their expulsion order.

The audience with Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis was an apparent show of support by the leader of the republic.

The consuls, Jon Purnell of Norwood, Mass., and Douglas Wake of Niagara Falls, learned of the decision to expel them in a phone call from the consulate in Leningrad, where they are based.

Wake said the pair had been to Vilnius “dozens of times” and had arrived Wednesday night. “We weren’t doing anything irregular,” said Purnell. “It’s part of our consular district.”