Lithuania wishes to agree on a permanent deployment of a German brigade “as soon as possible,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas stated, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in Vilnius, Anusauskas said that Lithuania wanted Germany to deploy the brigade before the end of 2023. He stressed the need to…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed new security commitments from G7 countries, but noted that they were no substitute for NATO membership, BNS reports. Speaking at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Zelensky said that the G7 security guarantees paved Ukraine’s way to NATO. He expressed confidence that Ukraine…
Supporters of Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion have put up “Crimea Beach Party” billboards during the NATO summit in Vilnius, BNS reports. The billboards at six intersections in Vilnius show two Ukrainian soldiers sitting on the beach under an umbrella while looking at the destroyed bridge across the Kerch Strait. The billboard campaign was…
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has appointed Devesh Uttam as India’s Ambassador to Lithuania, ANI reports. Currently, Uttam serves as joint secretary at the ministry. He will take up his new assignment shortly. India opened the embassy in Vilnius in April 2023.
The total area of agricultural land in Estonia has remained almost unchanged in 2023, according to Statistics Estonia’s preliminary data, The Baltic Times reports. Meanwhile, the area of arable land out of use for one year or more amounts to 28,200 hectares, which is 2.5 times more than in 2022. The area of land used…
Lithuania reopened the Medininkai checkpoint on the border with Belarus in the evening of 9 July 2023, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) announced, BNS reports. VSAT closed the checkpoint on 7 July 2023 after Belarusian border guards refused to allow a Pakistani national back into Belarus. The Pakistani man was travelling on a bus…
Latvia’s Prime Minister, Krisjanis Karins, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in Riga on 10 July 2023, The Baltic Times reports. The two prime ministers stressed the need for cooperation in strengthening the EU’s external borders and controlling external migration. Karins noted that Italy and Latvia were developing a similar understanding on migration and…
Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) does not have information that would indicate that Russia’s private military company, Wagner Group, currently poses a direct threat to Latvia, LETA reports. VDD said that it obtained information on Wagner Group’s activities constantly and continued to assess the risks associated with the mercenary group to both national and regional…
The cost of Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine far outweighs the cost of stopping it, Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of Estonia’s Foreign Ministry, stated. Speaking in an interview with Estonian World, Vseviov said that Estonia’s policy was to push Russia back into Russia, adding that every country can do their part to help stop Russian…