Leaders of NATO and the EU expressed full support for the Baltic States after Russian threats, ERR reported. Russia accused the Baltic States of allowing Ukrainian drone strikes from their territory, threatening retaliation. NATO secretary general Mark Rutte called the Russian accusations “absolutely ridiculous,” while European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated that the…
Estonia’s incumbent president, Alar Karis, does not have sufficient support in the parliament, the Riigikogu, to be elected for a second term, according to Kristina Kallas, chairwoman of the liberal coalition party, Estonia 200 (E200), ERR reports. Kallas said that a majority of E200 MPs did not support Karis, and she called for considering other…
The Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) issued an air alert in the country’s capital, Vilnius, after a drone was sighted over Vilnius district, LRT reported. LGP activated the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission after radars detected the suspected drone within Belarusian territory. Lithuanian leaders, including President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, as well as members…
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that Ukraine was planning to attack Russia from the territory of the Baltic States, Baltic News Network reported. SVR claimed that Ukrainian soldiers had already been deployed to five military bases in Latvia and threatened Latvia with “just retribution.” Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, repeated the claims and threats…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda supports discussions on changing the country’s constitution to allow hosting nuclear weapons in the country, BNS reports. The presence of allied nuclear weapons could serve as an appropriate and proportionate deterrent against armed aggression from hostile states, Nauseda argued. Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, stated that such…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda denied that the US was pressuring Lithuania to reopen transit shipments of fertilisers from Belarus, BNS reported. He stressed that Belarusian fertilisers were under EU sanctions and insisted that there were no grounds to lift the sanctions. Earlier, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary group of…
Estonia’s Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, warned Europe against direct talks with Russia at a time when Ukraine has gained the upper hand in the war against Russian aggression, Bloomberg reported. Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Lennart Meri Conference (LMC) in Tallinn, Tsahkna insisted that now was not the moment to negotiate, but to…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has asked MP Andris Kulbergs of the opposition United List to begin forming a new government, LSM reports. Rinkevics said that he chose Kulbergs because United List was the largest opposition group in the parliament, the Saeima, at the moment. Forming a new government was preferable to letting outgoing Prime Minister…
Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) carried out searches at the homes and in the offices of MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), and another PPNA MP, Daiva Petkeviciene, BNS reported. FNTT also searched PPNA’s party headquarters in Vilnius. The investigation focuses on whether the two MPs committed…