Latvia would support Estonia or Finland if they requested consultations with allies under NATO’s Article 4, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics announced, LETA reports. He was responding to questions about the recent sabotage of undersea power and data cables in the Baltic Sea. Rinkevics stressed the need for bolstering the physical presence of NATO allied forces…
Latvia has taken over the presidency of the Baltic Council of Ministers (BCM) for 2025, LSM reports. The focus of the Latvian presidency will be on regional security and resilience, support for Ukraine, regional connectivity, energy security, and investments, the Latvian Foreign Ministry stated. Latvia would pay special attention to external borders, civil protection and…
Latvia’s national airline, airBaltic, has announced that it will cancel flights on 19 routes and reduce flights on 21 routes in summer 2025 due to engine maintenance, LSM reports. The company will cancel flights from Riga to Aberdeen, Belgrade, Cluj-Napoca, Gothenburg, Mykonos, Pristina, Rzeszów, Skopje, Stavanger, and Yerevan. Also, the company will cancel flights from…
Lithuania has stepped up monitoring of the NordBalt power cable linking Lithuania and Sweden, Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas announced, ELTA reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Vaiciunas noted that the undersea power interconnection was very important for Lithuania’s electricity market. He stressed that the response to acts of sabotage on critical infrastructure should…
The possible closure of the Baltic Sea should “remain on the table,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Rinkevics addressed the issue of protecting critical infrastructure, stressing the need to increase patrols and impose sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet. However, he noted that almost 2,000 vessels travel through…
The passenger train operators of the three Baltic States will open an easier connection from Tallinn via Tartu and Riga to Vilnius on 6 January 2025, BNS reports, citing Vooremaa. The new connection harmonises carrier timetables and will include two transfers. The whole journey from Tallinn to Vilnius will take around 10.5 hours in total,…
Lithuania will propose that the three Baltic States build a joint power plant to ensure flexible electricity production and energy security, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas announced, BNS reports. Speaking on LRT, the minister suggested that the power plant could run on gas. He did not elaborate on the possible technology and location of the…
There is currently no threat of a full-scale Russian attack against the Baltic States, the outgoing commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), Leonids Kalnins, stated, FREEDOM reports, citing DELFI. He pointed out that Russia was currently tied in the war of aggression against Ukraine and suffering “significant losses.” While Russia still had capacity…
Latvia and Lithuania refused to accept a new package of EU sanctions against Russia that would have allowed companies to continue doing business in Russia, BNS reports. Three unnamed EU diplomats told Politico that Latvia and Lithuania blocked a clause that included exceptions allowing EU companies to continue importing and exporting sanctioned goods. The clause…