It might be why they’re going for it more than other countries. All the other countries on the bubble already have a guaranteed quota, so it’s only a bonus quota for them.
Also, I see nothing wrong with Lithuania entering a relay.
I actually quite like the new qualification system. I do think it could be refined here and here, but overall it seems to be a good qualification system. It’s increased the importance of the World Championships for smaller countries, added a little more tension, and has a fair distribution of quotas that both encourages participation of smaller countries, and still rewards those at the top.