Lithuania: PM, President urge not to provoke US, Russia
Resolving the current crisis in Ukraine’s relations with the US requires “cool heads and wisdom”…
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Welcome to Via Baltica, your “information superhighway” for news from the three Baltic tigers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania! Our founder and editor-in-chief is Kerkko Paananen, senior news analyst with more than two decades of expertise in covering current affairs in the Baltic States. We aim to do one thing well: Every day, we will…
Lithuania: PM, President urge not to provoke US, Russia
Resolving the current crisis in Ukraine’s relations with the US requires “cool heads and wisdom” rather than “very loud and sharp statements,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas stated, BNS reports. He was commenting on an earlier angry exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House. “I suggest not…
Latvia: No lasting peace in Ukraine without US: President
There can be no lasting peace in Ukraine without the US, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV24, he noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump clearly had serious differences of opinion. However, the most important thing at the moment was not to exacerbate the…
Estonia: Recession ended in Q4/2024: statistics
Estonia’s annual GDP totalled EUR 39.5bn at current prices in 2024, which was down 0.3% from 2023, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the GDP totalled EUR 10.6bn, which was up 1.2% from a year earlier. This marked the end of ten quarters of recession in the…
Baltic: Starmer apologises for not inviting Baltic leaders to London summit
The leaders of the three Baltic States held a video conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security on 2 March 2025, ERR reports. Starmer apologised for not inviting the Baltic States to a summit of European leaders in London, LRT reported. Asta Skaisgiryte, chief foreign policy…
Baltic: UK excludes Baltics from London summit on Ukraine war
The Baltic States are disappointed that the UK failed to invite them to a summit of European leaders on the war in Ukraine on 2 March 2025, Sky News reports. A diplomatic source said that the Baltic States were “truly unhappy,” noting that Russia’s leaders and the Baltic public would assess that the US, UK,…
Lithuania: Leaders reaffirm friendship with, support for Ukraine
Lithuanian officials expressed strong support for Ukraine after an argument between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, BNS reported. “Ukraine, you will never walk alone,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, while Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas reassured Ukraine of Lithuania’s friendship. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stressed that Europe’s…
Estonia: Estonian leaders decry Trump’s tirade against Zelensky
The free world needs a new leader, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Estonia’s former prime minister Kaja Kallas, stated, ERR reports. Reacting to an acrimonious public exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the White House on 28 February 2025, Kallas said that it was now up to Europeans to…
Lithuania: WTO again suspends case over China’s sanctions on Lithuania
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has again suspended the case over China’s trade restrictions on Lithuania, following a second request from the European Commission (EC), BNS reports. Apparently, EC lawyers have failed to find sufficient proof of Chinese restrictions on Lithuanian goods. The case may now be halted for a year and then terminated if…
Baltic: Regional parliament speakers to discuss helping Ukraine, Russian sabotage
Speakers of the parliaments of six countries bordering Russia will meet in the southern Estonian city of Tartu on 3 February 2025 to discuss further support for Ukraine and legislative means to counter Russia’s hybrid warfare, LSM reports. The parliamentary speakers will also discuss relations with the US and the situation in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia,…