Ukraine’s ambassador to Latvia, Anatolii Kutsevol, has asked the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, to pass a law to ban twin town agreements between Latvian municipalities and local governments in Russia and Belarus, LSM reports. In a letter to the parliament’s committee on public administration and local government, Kutsevol argued that such forms of cooperation were…
The chairs of the European affairs committees of the parliaments of the Baltic States and Poland demanded that the EU stop importing LNG from Russia as soon as possible, LSM reported. In a joint letter, the committee chairs insisted that LNG terminals at EU ports should not be used to import gas from Russia. They…
Estonia’s Tallinn Administrative Court has overturned the government’s decision to extradite Estonian citizen Andrei Sevljakov to the US, ERR reports. The court pointed to concerns that detention conditions in US prisons may not meet humane standards. The court instructed the government to obtain assurances from the US that Sevljakov’s prison conditions will not be inhumane….
Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste welcomed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) decision to postpone its planned mission to Russia indefinitely, BNS reports. Earlier, the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as Poland urged the IMF to reconsider its decision to resume consultations with Russia. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Skaiste noted that it…
The Russian and Chinese social media networks, Telegram and TikTok, are being used widely to spread content that poses risks to Latvia’s national security, according to the State Security Service (VDD), BNS reports. Unwanted content on the platforms includes disinformation, propaganda, and recruitment to criminal activity. Moreover, the platforms fail to monitor or delete such…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has submitted to parliament a proposal to revoke three treaties with Russia and Belarus on economic cooperation, BNS reports. Nauseda proposed denouncing treaties on the promotion and protection of investments with Belarus and Russia as well as a treaty to avoid double taxation with Russia. Lithuania signed all three treaties in…
Estonia has voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution urging Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian territories, ERR reports. Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna noted that international law must apply to all UN member states. At the same time, he stressed that the vote did not change Estonia’s support for Israel. The US…
A Latvian citizen may have been detained in neighbouring Belarus after going there by car, LETA reports. The Latvian consulate in Vitsyebsk has contacted the Belarusian authorities for information on the possible incident. Latvia’s Foreign Ministry pointed out that its ability to provide assistance to Latvian citizens in Belarus and Russia was very limited due…
US technology company Google has removed altogether 18 Belarusian radio and TV channels from its YouTube video platform following a request from the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (LRTK), BNS reports. LRTK said that the accounts were directly linked to the Belarusian state broadcaster, Belteleradiocompany (BTRC), which is under EU sanctions. LRTK had made…