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…
Resolving the current crisis in Ukraine’s relations with the US requires “cool heads and wisdom” rather than “very loud and sharp statements,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas stated, BNS reports. He was commenting on an earlier angry exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House. “I suggest not…
The volume of transit shipments of cereal products from Russia via Latvia totalled 994,726 tonnes in the first half of 2024, which was up 39.3% from 714,097 tonnes in the same period of 2023, according to data from the State Revenue Service (VID), LETA reports. Wheat and maslin accounted for 598,705 tonnes of the total…
The Estonian government will tighten controls on the transit of goods subject to EU sanctions, Ukrainska Pravda reports. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that attempts to evade sanctions continued to occur on the border with Russia. She noted that the EU’s latest sanctions package exacerbated the threats. The government will therefore replace the present risk-based…
Lithuania has implemented stricter controls on grain imports from Russia and other high-risk countries and territories as of 18 March 2024, BNS reports. Under the new rules, all shipments by land to the Lithuanian market or for export will be inspected. The Agriculture Ministry expects the controls to be extended to include checks on the…
Vehicles with Russian licence plates will have to be entered into Lithuania’s national vehicle register or leave the country by 11 March 2024, the Lithuanian Customs Department (LRM) announced, ERR reports. Drivers violating the new rule risk fines and having their vehicles confiscated. Exceptions apply to vehicles transiting via Lithuania to or from Russia’s Kaliningrad…
Lithuania will close down two more checkpoints on the border with Belarus as of 1 March 2024, BNS reports. Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said that closing the checkpoints in Lavoriskes and Raigardas would allow authorities to enforce sanctions, prevent smuggling, and screen incoming travellers more effectively. Also, the National Security Commission (NSK) proposed cutting the…
Estonia’s state-owned railway company, Eesti Raudtee (EVR), transported 10mn tonnes of cargo in 2023, which was 43% less than in 2022, ERR reports. The volume of transit freight totalled 2.1mn tonnes in 2023, compared to 9.5m tonnes in 2021. EVR’s commercial director, Arthur Raichmann, said that the biggest commodity groups were shale oil from Estonia…
Farmers in Lithuania staged a protest rally in the country’s capital, Vilnius, on 23-25 January 2024, Baltic News Network reported. Around 3,000 farmers gathered in front of the government building with over 1,500 tractors and forestry trucks blocking the city’s main street. The farmers oppose a rise in the excise duty on LPG, a ban…