A group of US lawmakers urged Lithuania to resist pressure and coercion from communist China and to maintain close relations with democratic Taiwan, BNS reported. In a joint letter sent to Lithuania’s political leaders, the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus of the US House of Representatives noted that China continued to exert pressure on…
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has proposed expanding national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens, BNS reports. Under the proposed draft legislation, Russian and Belarusian individuals and organisations would be barred from public cultural or sports events in Lithuania if they have operated in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, directly or indirectly support the war against Ukraine, or…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments banning the import of certain industrial goods from Russia and Belarus, LETA reports. The amendments ban the import of books, newspapers, video games, sporting goods, toys, clothing, and footwear either directly or indirectly from Russia and Belarus. Transit shipments of such goods to other countries will not…
New EU sanctions have forced the Russian-owned supermarket chain, Mere, to close down its discount stores in Latvia and Lithuania, LETA reports. The EU’s latest package of sanctions against Russia lists the companies operating the Mere chain, and their majority owner, Russian businessman Sergey Shnayder. They were sanctioned for supporting activities that undermine Ukraine’s territorial…
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys criticised concessions to Russia in the EU’s latest sanctions package, BNS reported. He lamented that EU sanctions policy decisions were “increasingly driven by the economic interests of member states,” limiting the EU’s ability to increase pressure on Russia and weakening the impact of sanctions overall. Earlier, Lithuania’s EU ambassador, Nerijus…
The EU should ban the entry of over a million Russians for their involvement in the war of aggression against Ukraine, Estonia’s Interior Minister, Igor Taro, stated, BNS reports. Estonia has thus far added thousands of names to the list of individuals barred from entering the Schengen Area. Speaking in an interview with Kuku Raadio,…
Hungarian banking group OTP Bank’s operations in Russia raise “legitimate questions” about its planned acquisition of the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, Lithuania’s central bank, the Bank of Lithuania, stated, Reuters reports. Earlier, OTP Bank announced that it had signed an agreement to buy Estonia-based Luminor. The Bank of Lithuania said that the European Central…
Lithuania’s new government is not expected to make any major changes in foreign policy, LRT reports. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius named regional security, Baltic cooperation, and strengthening ties with the US as his priorities, BNS and The Baltic Times reported. The government calls for a more united Europe, while maintaining strategic partnerships with Germany, Poland,…
Russia has closed several railway checkpoints on the borders with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia as of 1 July 2026, The Baltic Times reports. The official notice indicated no end date or reason for the closure. The order applies to the Lyttä, Värtsilä, and Svetogorsk (Enso) checkpoints on Russia’s border with Finland, the Pechory (Petseri) checkpoint…
