Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Kestutis Budrys, hoped that “significant progress” be made in EU membership talks with Ukraine by the first half of 2027, BNS reported. He warned that if full negotiations did not begin by 2027 and were not completed in 2027 or early 2028, Ukraine’s EU accession would be “almost unrealistic” by 2030. Budrys…
Estonia’s former president, Arnold Rüütel, died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 96, ERR reports. He will be buried with full state honours. Rüütel was born on the island of Saaremaa in 1928. He was chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in occupied Estonia in 1983-1990, chairman of the Supreme Soviet…
The Foreign Ministry of Georgia summoned the Estonian and Lithuanian ambassadors and the Latvian chargé d’affaires to express its concern over plans to impose sanctions on senior Georgian government officials, Agenda.ge reports. The ministry said that the plans amounted to “interference in Georgia’s internal affairs.” Earlier, the Baltic foreign ministers announced sanctions against several Georgian…
The only workable guarantee of security for Ukraine is NATO membership, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated, Interfax-Ukraine reports. He said that NATO membership would not only ensure Ukraine’s own security, but would also help build the European security architecture. Tsahkna called for more military support for Ukraine, saying that it was NATO’s duty to…
Georgia’s new parliament is not entirely legitimate, Asta Skaisgiryte, chief foreign policy adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, stated, LRT reports. If the parliament elects a new president, then the legitimacy of the president would be under question as well, she noted. Speaking in an interview with LNK, Skaisgiryte announced that Lithuania would offer refuge to…
The Georgian diaspora in Estonia held a protest outside the Georgian embassy in Tallinn on 2 December 2024, ERR reports. The demonstrators protested against the Georgian government’s anti-Western policies and disinformation campaigns, suspension of the country’s EU accession process, violent repression of peaceful protests, fraudulent elections, and undemocratic laws. The local diaspora organisation, Georgian House…
The three Baltic States have imposed entry bans on 11 Georgian officials due to their involvement in suppressing mass protests against the Georgian government’s decision to delay the country’s EU accession talks, Civil Georgia reports. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania urged the EU to levy sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for the violent police crackdown, Devdiscourse…
Georgia’s ambassador to Lithuania, Salome Shapakidze, has resigned, Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2 reports. In her announcement, she stressed that Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity went hand in hand with the country’s bid to join the EU and the Euro-Atlantic community. “Georgia is Europe!”, Shapakidze concluded. Her move follows the resignations of several ambassadors after…
Estonian President Alar Karis has expressed support for the Georgian people amid massive anti-government demonstrations across the country, ERR reports. Karis phoned Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, wishing her strength. Karis insisted that the Georgian government did not have a mandate to halt the aspiration of the majority of Georgians to join the EU. Also, he…