Finnish police have arrested two crew members of a cargo ship suspected of severing Finnish telecommunications operator Elisa’s undersea data cable in the Gulf of Finland, YLE reports. In addition, two more crew members were issued with travel bans. Three informed sources told Helsingin Sanomat that there was no indication of Russian involvement in the…
Lithuania expects Belarus to honour its pledge to stop smuggler balloons from flying into Lithuanian airspace, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated, BNS reports. Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, John Coale, announced that Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka had promised to halt the balloon incursions. Budrys warned that failure to honour the pledge would affect…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics expressed doubts about Russia’s readiness for peace in Ukraine, LETA reported. Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Evika Silina, Rinkevics said that Latvia fully supported both security guarantees for Ukraine and efforts to achieve peace. He noted that the positions of the United States, Europe, and Ukraine were…
Lithuania should “slightly de-escalate” tensions with Belarus, Deividas Matulionis, national security adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, stated, LRT reported. Earlier, Belarus released 123 political prisoners in exchange for the US lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilisers. Also, Belarus pledged to stop the incursion of smuggler balloons into Lithuanian airspace. Lithuania has halted transit shipments…
Lithuania will seek support from the European Union and the United States to pressure the Belarusian regime into stopping smuggler balloons from flying into Lithuanian airspace, Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced, LRT reports. She said that the Lithuanian government was prepared to impose national sanctions or reclose the border with Belarus if diplomatic efforts with…
The Lithuanian government has declared a nationwide emergency situation in response to repeated incursions of smuggler balloons from neighbouring Belarus into Lithuanian airspace, BNS reports. At the same time, the government proposed that the parliament, the Seimas, grant the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) extended powers to assist law enforcement for three months. The balloon incursions…
Recent Belarusian actions against Lithuania “could be recognised as terrorism,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene stated, BNS reports. She was referring to the launch of smuggler balloons from Belarus into Lithuanian airspace and the detention of Lithuanian trucks in Belarus. The actions endangered aviation security and violated international law, Ruginiene noted, saying that she was…
Lithuania does not oppose the European Commission’s (EC) decision to withdraw a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China’s trade restrictions on Lithuanian goods, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry announced, BNS reports. The EC argued that the main objectives of the dispute had been achieved and trade had resumed. However, the Foreign Ministry pointed out…
The EU is preparing new sanctions against Belarus, following repeated incursions of smuggler balloons from Belarus into Lithuania, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced, BNS reports. Earlier, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys urged the EU not to allow the Belarusian regime to blackmail and escape its international isolation and have sanctions lifted, ELTA…