Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas will resign, the government announced, LRT reports. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte explained that the government wanted to do “more and faster” for Lithuania’s security. Anusauskas revealed that Simonyte had offered him another post but he had refused. The minister said that the offer to swap posts was “unexpected.” Simonyte named…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte criticised the Hungarian and Slovakian foreign ministers for meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a forum in Antalya in Türkiye, BNS reported. Simonyte said that the meetings that Hungary’s Peter Szijjarto and Slovakia’s Juraj Blanar had with Lavrov were “a regrettable choice.” Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference…
Lithuanian farmers and grain processors are expressing increased concern over the import of Russian grain into the EU, LRT reports. Ausrys Macijauskas, chairman of the Lithuanian Grain Growers Association (LGAA), noted that 12mn tonnes of Russian grain was imported into the EU in 2023, including over 3mn tonnes via Latvia and Lithuania. Macijauskas said that…
Polish President Andrzej Duda assured that Poland was ready to defend every inch of NATO territory, including all three Baltic States, BNS reported. Speaking to visiting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Duda vowed that Lithuania could count on Poland. Lithuania’s chief of defence, General Valdemaras Rupsys, also noted that NATO planned for the use of Polish…
Lithuania will join the Czech-led initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine, according to Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, BNS reports. Contributing countries will look for potential ammunition stocks or sources of rapid production for acquisition. The plan is to procure 800,000 shells outside the EU, including possibly from India, South Africa, South Korea, and Türkiye, Kyiv…
The US ambassador to Latvia, Christopher Robinson, expressed concern about the potential for backsliding in Latvia’s fight against corruption, Baltic News Network reported. Speaking in an interview with TVNET, Robinson specifically highlighted Aivars Lembergs, the sanctioned former mayor of Ventspils, as a symbol of the dangers of returning to oligarchic influence. He said that the…
A court in Latvia’s capital, Riga, has arrested three suspects in an arson attack on the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, LETA reports. The two men and woman arrested all have police records. Investigators suspect that the attack was motivated by hatred for the Latvian state and freedom, potentially influenced by Russia. The investigation…
Estonia’s ruling coalition has abandoned a plan to change the current renewable energy fee, which would have raised EUR 60mn annually and shifted costs from consumers to the state, ERR reported. The senior party in the coalition government, the Estonian Reform Party, rejected the plan, citing concerns about the plan’s financial viability. The changes were…
The foreign ministers of Estonia and Ukraine, Margus Tsahkna and Dmytro Kuleba, called for using Russia’s frozen assets, valued at over USD 300bn, to help defend and rebuild Ukraine, ERR reported. Writing in a joint article published by the Estonian Foreign Ministry, the two ministers insisted that doing so would be both legal and just,…
