Lithuania has welcomed a decision by German sports gear company Adidas to remove a red tank top with the letters USSR and emblems of the Soviet Union from its online store in the country.

The Foreign Ministry tweeted Tuesday that the move was "respect for millions of victims of Soviet totalitarian regime (and) is an issue of human decency."

The ministry in the former Soviet republic, where Soviet symbols are likened to Nazi ones and are banned, earlier said the shirtI w was "sick with 'imperial nostalgia.'"

Lithuanians demanded online that the shirt, with the letters USSR and a badge with the hammer and sickle symbol, be removed, and threatened to boycott Adidas.

The German brand said it is part of a line ahead of the football World Cup in Russia.