Estonia: PM Kallas refuses to attend parliamentary committee session

Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has refused to attend a joint session of the state budget and the anti-corruption select committees of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, on 29 August 2023, ERR reports. The committees will hold an extraordinary joint meeting to discuss the operations of Estonian businesses in Russia. Kallas has come under heavy…

Read More

Baltic: Belarus border to be closed in case of “critical incident”: ministers

The Baltic States and Poland have agreed to close their borders with Belarus in the event of a “critical incident” involving the Russian private military company, Wagner Group, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced, TVP World reports. Following their meeting in Warsaw, the Baltic and Polish interior ministers demanded that Belarus expel the Wagner mercenaries…

Read More

Lithuania: Belarusian activist denied asylum on national security grounds

The Lithuanian Migration Department (LMD) has refused to grant asylum to Belarusian activist Volha Karach on national security grounds, LRT reports. The State Security Department (VSD) revealed that Karach had cooperated with Russian intelligence services, providing them with information about the Belarusian regime and opposition. In exchange, Russian intelligence services helped Karach manage her image….

Read More

Estonia: PM Kallas under pressure over husband’s business in Russia

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is under pressure after ERR revealed that Keila-based logistics company Stark Logistics, in which her husband, Arvo Hallik, owns nearly 25% of shares, has continued to do business in Russia. Stark Logistics has shipped metal containers manufactured by Tallinn-based Metaprint to Russia. The majority owner of both Metaprint and Stark Logistics…

Read More

Lithuania: Minister not ruling out closure of Belarus, Russia borders

Lithuania does not rule out closing its borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region, Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite stated, The New Voice of Ukraine reports. She discussed the situation with the commander of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT). Bilotaite stressed that Lithuania must be prepared for various threats along the borders. Earlier, Lithuania decided…

Read More

Latvia: Russian citizens to be given more time to pass language exams

The Latvian government will extend the period for Russian citizens residing in the country to pass a Latvian language examination, LETA reports. The government instructed the Ministry of Interior to prepare amendments that would allow Russian citizens to apply for temporary residence permits for two years, during which time they would have to take the…

Read More

Lithuania: Vilnius University fires Russian professor who denied Soviet occupation

Lithuania’s Vilnius University has dismissed Russian professor Andrey Desnitsky, who earlier denied the occupation of the Baltic States, LRT reports. Professor Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, dean of Vilnius University’s Faculty of Philology, said that Desnitsky, who had been working as a researcher and lecturer at the university since autumn 2022, had earlier written publications in which he…

Read More