Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow undermines confidence in Hungary’s EU presidency, BNS reports. Nauseda said that Orban’s “unilateral decision” to visit Moscow does not represent the EU position. “If you truly seek peace, you do not shake hands with a bloody…
The Lithuanian government has approved a draft resolution to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions, allowing to acquire, stockpile, and use these weapons, BNS reports. The proposal from the Defence Ministry follows the US decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine and is based on the argument that these munitions are highly effective for…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda supports Lithuania’s withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions so as to improve the country’s defence capabilities, BNS reports. The Defence Ministry has proposed the motion to the parliament, the Seimas. The ministry highlighted the need for cluster munitions in Lithuania’s defence strategy, noting that adversaries like Russia and Belarus would…
Latvia has no current plans to search and send back Ukrainian men of conscription age to Ukraine, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, BNS reports. She said that the government had not received any requests from Ukraine on the issue. Earlier, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said that Lithuania should help Ukraine…
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…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda remains the country’s most popular politician, according to a Vilmorus poll for Lietuvos Rytas in February 2024, BNS reports. Nauseda’s favourable rating stood at 66%, which was down from 68.3% in December 2023. His unfavourable rating was 15.1% (13.5%). MEP Vilija Blinkeviciute, chairwoman of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP),…
Lithuania and Poland plan to hold joint military exercises in the so-called Suwalki Gap, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Vilnius, Nauseda suggested that the exercise could take place in April 2024. He said that the two countries would undertake joint measures to increase…
Lithuania’s State Defence Council (VGT) has agreed to buy German-made Leopard 2 tanks for a planned new army division, Kestutis Budrys, chief national security adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, announced, BNS reports. The council tasked the Defence Ministry to begin negotiations with German manufacturers and other countries interested in procuring the equipment. Also, the council…