LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. New defense attaché of Finland starts work in Lithuania
2. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, July 19, 2023
3. Four irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus
4. Lithuania building up demining coalition in assistance to Ukraine
5. Nauseda to meet with Latvian president who is arriving in Lithuania
6. Govt mulls proposing Jankauskaite for Lithuanian ambassador to South Africa
7. Lithuania reports 11 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths
8. Lithuanian PM to visit Munich to discuss regional security, bilateral relations
9. 41 pct of Lithuanians think country’s economic situation is good – Eurobarometer
10. EU countries should cooperate more on defense – Eurobarometer
11. Lithuanians less concerned about inflation – Eurobarometer
12. Protection of Lithuania’s border with Belarus remains at highest level – intermin
13. 91 pct of Lithuanians expect high investments in renewable energy – Eurobarometer
14. Lithuanian president invites Latvia to step up European synchronization project
15. Lithuanian president invites Latvia to step up European synchronization project (expands)
16. Wagner's presence in Belarus raises hybrid warfare threat – Latvian president in Vilnius
17. Lithuanian Air Force troops take part in intl e-warfare exercise in Germany
18. Wagner's presence in Belarus raises hybrid warfare threat – Latvian president in Vilnius (expands)
19. Demining coalition will operate in Ukraine's liberated territories – Lithuanian defmin
20. Lithuania sends firefighter team to help Greece fight forest fires
21. Lithuanian president: better to withdraw from BRELL together with other Baltic countries (updates)
22. Lithuania’s nominee for ambassador to South Africa sees visa-free regime as key task
23. New French defense attaché accredited to Lithuania
24. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, July 20, 2023

New defense attaché of Finland starts work in Lithuania

VILNIUS, Jul 18, BNS – Finland’s new defense attaché to Lithuania, Jouni Heikki Sakari Lamminen, was accredited by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday.

Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas stressed that Lithuania was looking forward to strengthening military cooperation with NATO member Finland.

"We are very happy to be able to call Finland a NATO ally. We have considered the Finns as part of our family because we cooperate in many different formats, share the same values and look at threats the same way. However, we now look forward to deepening our cooperation even further, especially in the field of acquisitions", a press release from the ministry quoted Anusauskas as saying.

The incoming Finnish defense attaché to Lithuania previously served in various units of the Finnish Armed Forces. His most recent previous appointment as Commander of the Finnish Defense Forces Logistic Command started in 2020.  

Outgoing Finnish Defense Attaché to Lithuania Commander Ulla Tuulikki Murtomaki was awarded for her work and efforts in strengthening bilateral cooperation and received the Lithuanian National Defense System Medal "For Merit".

According to the ministry, Finnish and Lithuanian troops have been cooperating in various military exercises since the beginning of building up of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Finland is participating with Lithuania in the UK-led High Readiness Joint Expeditionary Force. Also, Finland is a member of the NATO Energy Security Centre in Vilnius, and in 2019, it joined the EU's PESCO Cyber Rapid Reaction Force project initiated by Lithuania.

Last year, the ministries of defense of Lithuania and Finland renewed the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of acquisitions, which outlined the roadmap for strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation in the field of armaments and defense technologies.

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, July 19, 2023

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Tuesday, July 18, 2023:

PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to meet with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics in Vilnius at 11.15 a.m., followed by a press conference at 11.40 a.m.

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to meet with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics at 1.45 p.m.

THE CABINET to hold its regular meeting and sitting at 1 p.m.

CULTURE MINISTER Simonas Kairys to meet with Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli at 5 p.m.

OTHER EVENTS

The Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Lithuania to hold a picnic to mark the anniversary of the Welles Declaration at 5 p.m.

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Four irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS –  Lithuanian border guards have in the past 24 hours turned away four migrants attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Wednesday morning.

Latvia reported 19 attempts at illegal border crossings on Tuesday, and 73 irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Monday, according to the latest available information.

A total of 1,311 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year. Over 11,200 irregular migrants were turned away in 2022.  

Lithuanian border guards have prevented almost 20,700 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were given the right to turn away irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border.

The SBGS says that illegal migration to Lithuania and the EU is being facilitated by Belarusian officials.

Almost 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally in 2021. However, the vast majority of them fled Lithuania once they were allowed to move freely.

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Lithuania building up demining coalition in assistance to Ukraine

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuania is assembling a coalition for demining Ukraine and invites countries to contribute by providing demining personnel training or by supplying the equipment needed to that end for the Ukrainian military.

Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced the plan on Tuesday at the distance meeting of the Ramstein-format Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the Defense Ministry said in a press release.

“We are rallying a coalition for demining efforts with an aim to consolidate and coordinate the ongoing as well as planned assistance to Ukraine in this area. The coalition is being assembled according to the ‘train and equip’ principle used in the training assistance for the Ukrainians carried out in Lithuania with Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and soon – Denmark. We invite other countries to join us with their instructors and equipment,” the minister said.

Anusauskas also stressed at the meeting that there was a need for more rapid and extensive Western assistance to Ukraine’s counteroffensive in order to end the war as soon as possible and help Kyiv win.

During the meeting, defense ministers presented their countries’ latest packages of assistance to Ukraine.

According to the Defense Ministry, Lithuania’s latest contribution is worth 24 million euros in July.

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Nauseda to meet with Latvian president who is arriving in Lithuania

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda will on Wednesday meet with newly elected President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics, who will pay an official visit to Lithuania.

The Lithuanian and Latvian leaders will discuss the security and defense situation in the region, concrete steps to deliver on the decisions taken at the Vilnius NATO Summit, support for Ukraine, Russia’s accountability for war crimes and the crimes of aggression, as well as sanctions against Russia as the aggressor and its satellite Belarus, the presidential office said in a press release.

Special focus will be placed on expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and Latvia in economic, cultural, educational, and scientific fields, as well as on the implementation and acceleration of infrastructure projects, including the synchronization of electricity grids with Continental Europe.

On Wednesday, Latvia’s new president is also scheduled to meet with Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen.

Rinkevics, who had served as Latvia’s foreign minister since 2011, was elected by Latvia’s parliament to be the country's next president on May 31.

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Govt mulls proposing Jankauskaite for Lithuanian ambassador to South Africa

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – The Lithuanian government will decide on Wednesday whether to nominate Rasa Jankauskaite as the country’s ambassador to South Africa.

If approved by the ministers and later by President Gitanas Nauseda, the diplomat will take up her new duties on September 1.

The Cabinet will also decide on nominating Ricardas Slepavicius, Lithuania’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and Mongolia, as the country’s ambassador to the Philippines.

If his appointment is approved, the diplomat will take up his new post on August 21.

In Lithuania, ambassadors are appointed and dismissed by the president on the government's proposal and with the approval of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

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Lithuania reports 11 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuania has recorded 11 new coronavirus infections and no deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Wednesday morning.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals now stands at twelve.

The 14-day primary infection rate has edged down to 6.5 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 6.3 percent.

The number of new coronavirus cases hit the peak in Lithuania in early February 2022 when more than 14,000 new infections were recorded daily.

Around 1.19 million people in Lithuania have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once.

Some 68.5 percent of people in the country have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far, according to the statistics.

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Lithuanian PM to visit Munich to discuss regional security, bilateral relations

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte on Wednesday begins a two-day visit to Munich, where she will meet with German politicians and business representatives to discuss regional security, the prospects for bilateral cooperation and the development of relations between Lithuania and the State of Bavaria.

Officials of the two countries will also discuss support for Ukraine and the development of investment by German companies in Lithuania.

"The aim of the prime minister's working visit to Germany is to strengthen economic and cultural ties with the German state of Bavaria, as well as to strengthen cooperation between Lithuania and Germany on security, economic and other issues," the government's communications department told BNS.

During her visit to Germany, Simonyte will meet with members of the Bundestag, Prime Minister of Bavaria Markus Soder, President of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Friedrich Merz, representatives of think tanks and experts, as well as business representatives.

Germany is one of Lithuania's main trade and security partners. Berlin has been leading the NATO International Allied Battalion deployed in the country since 2017 and is planning to deploy a brigade of troops in the near future.

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41 pct of Lithuanians think country’s economic situation is good – Eurobarometer

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Some 41 percent of Lithuanians think that the situation of the country’s economy is good and their share has grown by 2 percentage points since January-February, a new Eurobarometer survey has shown.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of respondents described the economic situation in the country as bad in June (-3 pp).

As regards the situation of the European economy, 66 percent of Lithuanians think it is good (+2 pp) and 22 percent describe it as bad (-3 pp).

Across the European Union, 45 percent of respondents now think that the situation of the European economy is good (+5 pp), slightly outweighing the number thinking it is bad (44 percent, -7 pp).

In addition, 55 percent of Lithuanians (and Europeans) think that the EU recovery plan worth 800 billion euros, NextGenerationEU, can be an effective measure to respond to the current economic challenges.

Support for the single currency remains very high in Lithuania, at 80 percent, yet it is slightly lower for the EU as a whole, at 71 percent.

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EU countries should cooperate more on defense – Eurobarometer

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuanians believe EU member states should cooperate more in the area of defense, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey.

90 percent of Lithuanians believe EU-level defense cooperation should be strengthened, compared to the EU average of 80 percent.

Almost as many Lithuanians are in favor of better coordination of EU member states' procurement of military equipment. The overall EU average on this issue is lower as 77 percent of Europeans believe so.

Moreover, 69 percent of EU citizens would like the EU to strengthen its capacity to produce military equipment, and 66 percent say the EU should spend more money on defense.

89 percent of respondents in Lithuania are in favor of a common defense and security policy, compared to the EU average of 77 percent, the survey shows.

The survey was carried out between May 31 and June 21, and involved direct interviews in 27 EU member states. 1,008 people were surveyed in Lithuania and 26,425 in the EU.

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Lithuanians less concerned about inflation – Eurobarometer

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuanians are still concerned about inflation, but less than they were at the beginning of this year, according to the latest Eurobarometer poll. 

40 percent of respondents in Lithuania (25 percent of Europeans) consider the international situation to be the most important problem currently facing the EU, the June survey shows.

The economic situation is a concern for 27 percent of Lithuanians (17 percent of Europeans), followed by rising prices, inflation and the cost of living (20 and 27 percent respectively) and energy supply for (18 and 16 percent respectively).

Asked about the two key problems facing the country, 57 percent of Lithuanians mentioned rising prices and the cost of living, down by 7 percentage points from January-February.

Across the EU, 45 percent mentioned these problems, down by 8 points.

The economic situation was the next problem mentioned by 22 percent of Lithuanians (18 percent of Europeans), followed by health by (17 and 14 percent respectively) and the international situation by (15 and 9 percent respectively).

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Protection of Lithuania’s border with Belarus remains at highest level – intermin

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Lithuania monitors the movement of the Russian mercenary force Wagner in Belarus and keeps protection of its border with the neighboring country at the highest level, which will not be reduced, Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite has said adding that there are no direct threats at the moment.

"There are no direct threats to our country at the moment, but, of course, we are certainly monitoring the situation very closely, we are having regular meetings, we are working with intelligence agencies and with other our institutions – the Ministry of Defense and the army," she told reporters on Wednesday.

Observers reported earlier that a contingent of Wagner fighters – at least 60 different vehicles – had arrived in a camp in Belarus in recent days.

“As far as the reinforcement of our border security is concerned, it is maximized, it is at the highest level, and this has not been revoked," Bilotaite said.

“That involves the deployment of the army, the work of our officers, and our respective measures that are in place at the border, i.e. the physical barrier, the border surveillance systems – everything is really at the highest level at the moment, and there are no plans to somehow reduce this level, because the situation is not changing and we have to be vigilant, and that is what all our institutions are doing."

Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner group's founder and leader, staged a mutiny against Russian military leadership in June but later called off the rebellion.

Following the failed revolt, the Kremlin made a promise to allow Wagner fighters to relocate to Belarus, if they wanted, or to sign a contract with the Russian defense ministry.

By Austėja Masiokaitė-Liubinienė

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91 pct of Lithuanians expect high investments in renewable energy – Eurobarometer

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - The majority of Lithuanians continue to support energy transformation and expect significant investments in renewable energy resources, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey.

According to the June poll, 91% percent of Lithuanians (85 percent of EU citizens) believe that the EU should invest heavily in wind and solar power generation. 

87 percent of Lithuanians (82 percent of EU citizens) believe that increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, transport and goods production will reduce dependence on energy producers from outside the EU.

87 percent of Lithuanians (80 percent of EU citizens) agree that EU member states should jointly buy energy from other countries to make it cheaper.

In addition, 88 percent of people in Lithuania (81 percent of European) agree that reducing oil and gas imports and investing in renewable energy are important for common security, while 89 percent (82 percent) say that the EU should reduce its dependence on Russian energy resources as soon as possible.

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Lithuanian president invites Latvia to step up European synchronization project

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has invited his Latvian counterpart to speed up the synchronization of the country's electricity grid with that of continental Europe.

"I invited the president to accelerate the synchronization with continental European networks. Complete disconnection from the Russian and Belarusian electricity grids is an important task we share and we need to implement it as soon as possible," Nauseda told reporters on Wednesday after his meeting with Edgars Rinkevics in Vilnius.

By Valdas Pryšmantas

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Lithuanian president invites Latvia to step up European synchronization project (expands)

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has invited his Latvian counterpart to speed up the synchronization of the country's electricity grid with that of continental Europe.

"I invited the president to accelerate the synchronization with continental European networks. Complete disconnection from the Russian and Belarusian electricity grids is an important task we share and we need to implement it as soon as possible," Nauseda told reporters on Wednesday after his meeting with Edgars Rinkevics in Vilnius.

Lithuania mulls withdrawing from the Russian-controlled energy system (BRELL) agreement as early as the beginning of next year, the Lithuanian president said, adding that it would be more convenient to do it together with Latvia.

"The withdrawal is possible as early as early next year, but I also do recognize the fact that it would be better to withdraw together and to take a common position in this case. If I understand it correctly, Latvia's position is to postpone the withdrawal by one year and to do it nearly 2025," Nauseda said.

"In any case, we will devote the next meeting of the State Defense Council to this issue," he added.

By Valdas Pryšmantas

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Wagner's presence in Belarus raises hybrid warfare threat – Latvian president in Vilnius

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - The presence of the Wagner mercenary group in Belarus raises the risk of the use of hybrid warfare methods, including the infiltration of mercenaries among illegal migrants, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said in Vilnius on Wednesday.

"We can't rule out scenarios of some kind of hybrid warfare, like using – and we know that both of our countries, Latvia and Lithuania, are affected by the Lukashenko regime –migration as a weapon to try to infiltrate mercenaries and use them also in this hybrid warfare. All these kind of scenarios should be taken into account," the Latvian leader said.

However, he told the joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda that he had no evidence of any specific threat that the Wagner movement in Belarus would pose to Latvia.

For his part, Nauseda said the reasons why Wagner movement in Belarus was currently taking place were irrelevant as their objectives might change.

"We often speak about whether they can be directed one way or the other. This is not essential because the plans can change at any time and the very fact that these groups are so close to our borders, to the Latvian and Lithuanian borders, this poses an additional threat," the Lithuanian leader said.

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Lithuanian Air Force troops take part in intl e-warfare exercise in Germany

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Troops from Lithuania's Air Force are this week taking part in the Electronic Warfare Exercise Ramstein Guard 2023, the Lithuanian army said.

The simultaneous exercise in Lithuania and Latvia is being carried out by the Combined Air Operations Centre Uedem, Germany.

The main objective of the exercise is to train Air Force units to operate effectively in a hostile electronic warfare environment.

The Exercise Ramstein Guard 2023 is part of the NATO Electronic Warfare Force Integration Program (NEWFIP).

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Wagner's presence in Belarus raises hybrid warfare threat – Latvian president in Vilnius (expands)

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - The presence of the Wagner mercenary group in Belarus raises the risk of the use of hybrid warfare methods, including the infiltration of mercenaries among illegal migrants, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said in Vilnius on Wednesday.

"We can't rule out scenarios of some kind of hybrid warfare, like using – and we know that both of our countries, Latvia and Lithuania, are affected by the Lukashenko regime –migration as a weapon to try to infiltrate mercenaries and use them also in this hybrid warfare. All these kind of scenarios should be taken into account," the Latvian leader said.

"I think we also need to take the latest information about mercenaries being transported and arriving in Belarus seriously, and we need to be prepared for different scenarios," he added.

However, the Latvian leader told the joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda that he had no evidence of any specific threat that the Wagner movement in Belarus would pose to Latvia.

For his part, Nauseda said the reasons why Wagner movement in Belarus was currently taking place were irrelevant as their objectives might change.

"We often speak about whether they can be directed one way or the other. This is not essential because the plans can change at any time and the very fact that these groups are so close to our borders, to the Latvian and Lithuanian borders, this poses an additional threat," the Lithuanian leader said.

The independent monitoring group Belaruski Hajun, which tracks the movements of armed forces in Belarus, has been reporting since weekend about Wagner mercenaries, who have agreed to move to Belarus following a failed mutiny, arriving in this Eastern European country that borders both Lithuania and Russia.

Belarus’ authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered a deal that ended last month's rebellion launched by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said that his country's military could benefit from the mercenaries' combat experience.

"We will take additional security measures if we see that additional factors emerge or if the number of fighters in Belarus continues to grow, so that it is definitely a hotbed of insecurity," Nauseda said.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas told BNS on Monday that arrival of some fighters from the Russian mercenary force Wagner in Belarus does not fundamentally change the security situation in the region.

By Austėja Masiokaitė-Liubinienė, Augustas Stankevičius

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Demining coalition will operate in Ukraine's liberated territories – Lithuanian defmin

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – The Lithuanian-led demining coalition will operate in Ukraine's recaptured territories, not on the frontline, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas says.

"The need for demining is enormous. We are talking about liberated territories, about areas close to the frontline where there's huge need for specialists and engineering equipment," the minister told reporters on Wednesday. "We are not talking about what is happening at the front. These are completely different means and possibilities."

The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday Lithuania is pooling a coalition for demining Ukraine and invites countries to contribute demining personnel training or equipment the Ukrainians need.

Moreover, the ministry also said the worth of Lithuania's assistance package to Ukraine would stand at 24 million euros.

"We are counting grenade launcher ammunition and armored personnel carriers we are sending this month," Anusauskas said.

Meanwhile, approached by BNS, the ministry refrained to elaborate on the assistance.

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Lithuania sends firefighter team to help Greece fight forest fires

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - Lithuania is sending a team of 25 firefighters to Greece to help the country to fight forest fires.

The Lithuanian government approved such a decision on Wednesday in response to an international request from Greece.

"As Greece faces rampant forest fires that require the international community's assistance, we are urgently sending a team of firefighters. The professionalism of our officers is recognized internationally. They will help the people of Greece in distress," Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said in the ministry's statement.

"Lithuania expresses its solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy and stands ready to provide a rescue team to its trusted ally," Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.

The Agriculture Ministry been tasked to provide food for the relief team, and the Finance Ministry will have to reimburse the costs incurred by state institutions and related to the deployment of the Lithuanian team and its activities when providing assistance to Greece. 

Lithuania earlier also deployed an international relief team and provided humanitarian aid to Turkey after it was hit by a massive earthquake in February.

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Lithuanian president: better to withdraw from BRELL together with other Baltic countries (updates)

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – President Gitanas Nauseda says it would be better for Lithuania to withdraw from the Russian-controlled energy system (BRELL) agreement together with Latvia and Estonia, but Vilnius will make a final decision on its stance at a meeting of the State Defense Council.

"Withdrawal is possible as early as in the beginning of next year, but I also acknowledge that it would be better to withdraw together and in this case to stick to a common position," Nauseda told reporters in Vilnius on Wednesday after a meeting with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics.

"If I understand correctly, Latvia's position is to postpone this withdrawal by one year and to do that at the beginning of 2025," the Lithuanian leader added.

He also stressed that this issue would dominate the next meeting of the State Defense Council: "We will take a decision after assessing all the technical, security and political aspects and, without any doubt, it will be announced."

Nauseda also said that he had invited his Latvian counterpart to speed up the synchronization of the country's electricity grid with that of continental Europe.

"I invited the president to accelerate the synchronization with continental European networks. Complete disconnection from the Russian and Belarusian electricity grids is an important task we share and we need to implement it as soon as possible," he noted.

For his part, Rinkevics said that Latvia had made it clear that it “is willing to withdraw from the BRELL agreement as soon as possible”, but it was necessary to find the most economically and technically advantageous way for each country.

“There is a very clear political commitment... However, we also need to take into account that this affects all three Baltic States, affects in a different manner – both from the technical point of view and financial point of view,” the Latvian leader noted.

“Our position would be that we need to find such a way that is less economically harmful and less technically problematic for each and every Baltic State – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” he added.

Rinkevics said he had agreed to continue discussions on faster disconnection from BRELL and synchronization with the Western European electricity grids, but stressed that it had to be a balanced and coordinated decision.

Lithuania aims to disconnect from the common electricity system including the Baltic States, Russia and Belarus before December 2025. The country would like to do so in February 2024 and synchronize the Baltic power grids with continental Europe's power grid. Meanwhile, Latvia and Estonia intend to meet the end deadline.

Signed in February 2001, the BRELL agreement defines how the Baltic states, Russia and Belarus operate within the IPS/UPS system, or the so-called BRELL ring, in which Moscow regulates electricity frequency.

By Valdas Pryšmantas, Augustas Stankevičius

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Lithuania’s nominee for ambassador to South Africa sees visa-free regime as key task

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS – Rasa Jankauskaite, nominated by the government as Lithuania’s ambassador to South Africa, sees the implementation of a visa-free regime with this country for Lithuanian citizens as her main task.

"One of my most important tasks will be to achieve full visa-free access to South Africa for Lithuanian citizens," the diplomat told a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The diplomat, who was nominated by the Cabinet on Wednesday, will take up her new duties on September 1, if her candidacy is approved by President Gitanas Nauseda. 

“Colleague Jankauskaite is as ready as no one else to represent Lithuania in the Republic of South Africa, where there are both important economic interests and a large community of Litvak emigrants from Lithuania, and from which we cover more countries in the southern part of the African continent," Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas told the meeting.

"This is indeed a very important post," he said.

Jankauskaite noted that the importance of South Africa was growing globally.

The diplomat pointed out that the country "historically has had quite close ties with Russia" and that the war in Ukraine would make it "very difficult to call South Africa a like-minded country".

This is why, according to Jankauskaite, it is important to "deepen political dialogue with this country as much as possible" in order to influence South Africa's position on the war in Ukraine and to refute disinformation being spread by Russia.

South Africa has recently been at loggerheads over the detention of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been invited to next month's BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The Russian president has been invited to the event despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Pretoria, as a member of the ICC, would have to execute should he arrive.

South Africa calls for an exception to the ICC rules, arguing that legalizing arrest could threaten national security, peace and order.

According to Jankauskaite, Lithuania also has economic interests in South Africa, as it would have something to offer that country in the fields of high-tech, biotechnology, life sciences, digitalization, and green energy.

She noted that Lithuania's work in Africa had not been significant thus far and, compared to other countries, Vilnius was late in establishing closer ties with the continent.

The government on Wednesday also nominated Ricardas Slepavicius, Lithuania’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and Mongolia, as the country’s ambassador to the Philippines.

The diplomat would take up his new post on August 21.

In Lithuania, ambassadors are appointed and dismissed by the president on the government's proposal and with the approval of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

By Austėja Masiokaitė-Liubinienė

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New French defense attaché accredited to Lithuania

VILNIUS, Jul 19, BNS - Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Le Gall, has been accredited as France's new defense attaché to Lithuania, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. He's replacing Le Gall replaced Frédéric Lemoine in the position.

Defense cooperation between Lithuania and France is taking place in various forms and scopes, the ministry pointed out in its statement, adding that the French contribution to the protection of the Baltic airspace is particularly appreciated as the French Air Force has already carried out eight NATO air policing missions in the Baltic states.

The new attaché has also taken part in this mission in Lithuania.

Le Gall is a fighter pilot in the French Air Force and he was deployed in Siauliai in 2010. He met his wife while serving in Lithuania.

Later on, he took part in missions in Djibouti and Chad and served in various squadrons of the French Air Force. He has worked at NATO International Military Staff since 2020.

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, July 20, 2023

VILNIUS, Jul 20, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, July 20, 2023:

PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to remotely meet with a candidate for the post of Head of the Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Lithuania at 11 a.m.; to present credentials to Ambassador to Belgium Dainius Petras Kamaitis at 1 p.m.; to present credentials to Ambassador Kazakhstan Egidijus Navikas at 1.45 p.m.; to present credentials to Ambassador to Israel Audrius Bruzga at 2.30 p.m.

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to meet with Estonian Ambassador Kai Kaarelson at 3 p.m.

PRIME MINISTER Ingrida Simonyte to have breakfast with representatives of Munich-based think-tanks in Germany at 10 a.m.; to meet with German business representatives at 11.15 a.m.

INTERIOR MINISTER Agne Bilotaite to attend an informal meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Spain.

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