Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has handed in a diplomatic note to Belarus following the launch of the second power unit of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelAES) in Astravyets, BNS reports. Lithuania urged Belarus not to operate the second unit until all safety problems have been resolved. The Foreign Ministry noted that Belarus had failed to…
Latvia’s National Alliance, Latvian Association of Regions (LRA), Movement For, and Progressives have failed to reach agreement on reducing the number of deputy mayors in the Riga City Council, LSM reports. The combined political group of Movement For and Progressives wants to cut the number of deputy mayors from the current three to just one,…
Lithuania and Poland may close their borders with Belarus in the event of serious incidents involving the Russian mercenary group, Wagner Group, along the frontier, BNS reports. Reuters cited Poland’s Interior Minister, Mariusz Kaminski, as saying that such a possibility was being discussed with neighbouring countries. Lithuania’s Deputy Interior Minister, Arnoldas Abramavicius, confirmed that there…
Latvia’s Foreign Ministry plans to ask other Schengen Area countries to consider a unified approach to the entry of Belarusian and Russian citizens to the EU, Baltic News Network reports, citing LSM. Earlier, a group of Russian citizens arrived in Latvia as part of an Azerbaijani football team, using Schengen visas issued by a third…
Latvian capital Riga’s acting mayor, Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity), expects political parties in the Riga City Council to reach a consensus on the formation of a new coalition next week, LETA reports. However, the parties have still failed to reach a “spirit of compromise,” Kirsis said. The parties disagree on the number of deputy mayoral…
Lithuania’s preparedness for possible threats is adequate for the current situation, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte stated, LRT reports. She was commenting reports that Russian private military company Wagner Group’s mercenaries had arrived in neighbouring Belarus. Simonyte said that Lithuanian intelligence agencies were monitoring the situation in Belarus and exchanging information with allied partners. Defence Minister…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda criticised Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas for sharing information on Lithuania’s plans to sign a letter of intent on the purchase of Leopard tanks from Germany, LRT reports. Nauseda said that the State Defence Council (VGT) had agreed that restricted information “should not be shared on Facebook right after the meeting.” He…
The editor-in-chief of Russian propaganda agency Sputnik’s Lithuanian edition, Marats Kasems, has fled Latvia, fearing criminal prosecution, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, announced, LETA reports. Riga-based Russian independent news website Meduza reported that Kasems was now in Russia. Meanwhile, his Facebook page indicates that he is currently in the UK. Earlier, Kasems pled…
Canada’s new defence attaché to Lithuania, Colonel Robert Foster, was accredited at the Lithuanian Defence Ministry on 26 July 2023, BNS reported. Prior to his appointment, Foster served as Canada’s defence attaché in Ukraine for the past four years. Lithuania’s Defence Minister, Arvydas Anusauskas, expressed hope for greater military cooperation with Canada, which has deployed…