Authorities in Latvia and Lithuania have opened investigations into information in documents related to the convicted US sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. The documents contain hundreds of references to Latvia and Lithuania, including indications that Epstein’s associates had recruited young women and children for sexual exploitation through local modelling agencies, LETA and LRT reported. Latvia’s State…
Lithuanian officials have been making public statements recently suggesting a possible rapprochement in relations with neighbouring Belarus, only to retract their remarks afterwards, LRT reports. Observers say that the comments may be an attempt to test whether Lithuanian public opinion on Belarus is changing. Officials have suggested opening talks with Belarus and easing sanctions imposed…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene criticised the previous government’s decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius, BNS reports. She said that Lithuania “jumped in front of the train and lost” when it allowed Taiwan to open the representative office without coordinating the move with the EU and the US. Ruginiene…
The US Congress has approved USD 200mn in security assistance to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania under the Baltic Security Initiative (BSI) in 2026, ERR reports. BSI supports the independent defence capabilities and interoperability of the Baltic States. In addition, the US has allocated defence aid to the Baltic States under the Department of State’s Foreign…
Estonian President Alar Karis has appointed Kristjan Prikk as the country’s new ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), ERR reports. Prikk, who has served as Estonia’s ambassador to the US since 2021, will replace Estonia’s current NATO ambassador, Jüri Luik, as of August 2026. Previously, Prikk served in various defence-related diplomatic posts. He…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda pledged to push for the EU to extend sanctions imposed against Belarus, BNS reports. He pointed to the Belarusian regime’s continued alignment with Russia, repression of political opponents, and repeated hybrid attacks against Lithuania. EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius agreed that there was no reason for the EU to remove the…
A consortium led by US-based JPMorgan will advise on the Latvian state’s buyout of Swedish telecommunications group Telia’s shares in the Latvian telecommunications companies, Tet and Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), BNS reports. Under the agreement, the consortium, which besides JPMorgan includes A&O Shearman, Deloitte, Hardiman Telecommunications, TEGOS, and WALLESS, will advise Latvia’s state-owned energy group, Latvenergo,…
Newly released documents connected to the convicted US human trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, include numerous mentions related to the Baltic States. Several documents refer to travel arrangements to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Estonian World reports. Many messages refer, often in sexualised context, to women that Epstein or his associates had met in the Baltic States. Latvia…
The foreign ministers of the three Baltic States and Finland expressed solidarity with Denmark and Greenland after US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that the US needed to annex Greenland, ERR reports. Earlier, Trump appointed Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as US special envoy to Greenland. Landry stated that he would work to make Greenland…