Every tenth resident of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, is a foreign national, according to the city’s mayor, Valdas Benkunskas, ELTA reports. Vilnius has altogether around 76,000 foreign residents, of whom 61,000 (80%) are non-EU citizens, BNS reported. Around 40,000 of the foreigners, mostly from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, have temporary residence permits. The mayor warned…
Moldovan President Maia Sandu paid an official visit to Latvia from 31 March to 2 April 2026, LETA reported. Speaking at a joint press conference with her Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rinkevics, Sandu urged Latvia to support Moldova’s EU accession. She noted that Moldovans had voted twice in favour of the country’s European path and that…
Several Ukrainian strike drones have crashed in the three Baltic States and Finland as Ukraine is attacking Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure, Baltic News and YLE reported. The drones are targeting oil and gas terminals and other infrastructure at Russia’s ports on the Gulf of Finland and the Kirishi oil refinery. One of the stray…
Recent remarks by Estonian President Alar Karis have led to questions from foreign partners about Estonia’s position on the war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said, ERR reports. Following his visit to Kyiv, Tsahkna said that the President’s suggestions of possible EU talks with Russia, lifting sanctions, and for Ukraine to cede territory had…
Estonian President Alar Karis assured that Estonia’s foreign policy remained united despite criticism of his comments on the war in Ukraine, ERR reports. Earlier, Karis expressed support for appointing a special EU envoy for peace talks with Russia and suggested that Ukraine cede territory to end the war. Speaking on the sidelines of the opening…
Estonian President Alar Karis and Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina back an idea to appoint a special EU envoy for talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine, Euronews reports. Speaking in interviews at the World Governments Summit in the UAE, both Karis and Silina said that any communication with Russia should be conducted…
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, arrived on a two-day working visit to Latvia on 2 February 2026, LSM reported. Ablakwa said that the immediate reason for his visit was to discuss the circumstances surrounding the death of an 18-year-old Ghanaian student in Riga in June 2025, GhanaWeb reported. Also, Ablakwa informed his Latvian counterpart,…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned of “risks associated with overly close engagement with the Chinese regime,” BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Nauseda said that Lithuania “did not take pleasure” in the current rupture of diplomatic ties with China, but noted that restoring relations would require goodwill from both sides. He compared…
Russia continued to pose the most significant threat to Latvia’s national security in 2025, according to the State Security Service’s (VDD) new report, BNS reports. VDD pointed to Russia’s actions to damage infrastructure, aggressive intelligence activities, and psychological operations to influence public opinion in Latvia. VDD expects Russia to continue its “intensive, systematic, and aggressive…