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Lithuania against exceptions for blacklisted Russian representatives at OSCE PA, foreign minister says

Lithuania is against exceptions for Russia‘s representatives on Europe’s blacklist, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said on Thursday after Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin was not allowed to attend the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly in Helsinki, sparking Russia’s anger. […]

Vladimir Zhirinovsky
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Russian MP Zhirinovsky suggests referendums in Baltics on joining Russian Federation

Member of the Russian Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky, notorious for his eccentric and chauvinistic statements, is calling for a referendum to be organized in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia where people would be offered to vote for the countries to be included in the Russian Federation. Zhirinovsky openly announced that the referendum is not an attempt to allow the residents to exercise their democratic rights to voice their wishes, but to give them the opportunity to “agree becoming part of Russia again”. […]

Ashton Carter
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US to ‘pre-position’ heavy weapons in Baltic states, defence secretary says

The US will pre-position heavy weapons, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and artillery in central and eastern Europe for the first time, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Tuesday, AFP reports. […]

No Picture
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Lithuanian foreign minister: Georgia capable of achieving visa-free travels to EU this year

Georgia is disappointed with the stalling visa-free talks with the European Union (EU); however, it is fully capable of achieving the objective before the end of this year, says Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius. […]

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Putin’s Russia. The dangerous illusion of independent and western oligarchs

I decided to dedicate one more essay in the “Putin’s Russia” series to Russian oligarchs because of one piece of news that attracted much less attention in Lithuania and internationally than it warranted: the former foreign minister of Sweden and one of the fiercest critics of President Valdimir Putin, Carl Bildt, accepted a consulting job at LetterOne, a Luxembourg-based company set up and run by Russian oligarchs. […]

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Putin will not risk nuclear war, political scientist Girnius says

American media recently reported that the United States was planning to deploy heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, including Lithuania. Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius and Minister of Defence Juozas Olekas have confirmed that they are familiar with the plans. Will the move further escalate tensions with Russia? Laisvoji Banga radio talks to political scientist Kęstutis Girnius of Vilnius University. […]

Vilniaus oro uostas
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Why Lithuanian airlines fail while Latvian and Estonian prosper

Despite years of lasting loss-making, Estonia‘s airline Estonian Air and Latvia‘s AirBaltic keep on flying passengers to different destinations all over the world. Smart management and support from the Latvian government allowed the latter to cross into the black. Meanwhile in Lithuania, a second airline in less than a decade was recently brought down by insolvency. Why did this happen, and does Lithuania need a national airline at all? […]

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Russian lawmakers question legitimacy of USSR State Council recognizing Baltic independence

Russian Duma members Evgeny Fedorov and Anton Roman have turned to Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika with a request to assess the legitimacy of the State Council of the USSR‘s decision to recognize the independence of the Baltic states in 1991. […]