The three Baltic States have joined eight other European countries in calling on the EU to impose tighter restrictions on visas for Russian citizens, ERR reports. The joint letter from the foreign and interior ministers of nine EU member states, Norway, and Iceland stated that “Russians should not be sunning themselves on European beaches while…
Renewed calls for engagement with Russia do not reflect Europe’s security needs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking at the opening of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s spring session in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Nauseda insisted that Russia has to be “contained, not courted.” He reminded that the future of European security was…
Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) has warned against proposals to resume transit shipments of Belarusian fertilisers through the port of Klaipeda, BNS reports. VSD director Remigijus Bridikis noted that such a move would contravene EU sanctions without reducing security threats posed by Belarus. He stressed that the Belarusian regime had not changed its policies of…
Europe cannot act as mediator in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview on ERR, he said that Russia was trying to pull Europe into taking the role of mediator so as to escape new sanctions. Russia fears that the EU will impose a…
The US Department of State has sent a letter to Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, asking them to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash and allow transit shipments through their territories, RFE/RL reports. The letter stated that US companies were interested in buying Belarusian potash shipped via Baltic or Ukrainian ports so as to avoid Russian ports….
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…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda rejected suggestions that relations with Belarus were improving, LRT reported. He said that there had been no positive changes on Belarusian balloon incursions, illegal migration, or participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine. There were thus no grounds to ease sanctions on Belarus, Nauseda stated. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that…
Lithuania should not rule out dialogue with neighbouring Belarus, Mindaugas Sinkevicius, chairman of the ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), stated, BNS reports. He suggested that contacts between deputy ministers could be possible, particularly if they take place at US invitation. Sinkevicius highlighted the release of political prisoners and the lifting of some sanctions after…