Lithuania

VILNIUS, October 13. /TASS/: Former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya announced that the Belarusian opposition intends to move to active actions in two weeks’ time if its demands are not met.

VILNIUS, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The first round of the Lithuanian parliamentary elections began here on Sunday to elect 141 members of the Baltic country's parliament for a four-year term.

According to Lithuania's Central Electoral Commission (CEC), 1,754 candidates from 17 parties attended the elections of Seimas, the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. Over 2.4 million of voters are eligible to vote this year.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged Lithuanians to vote actively and responsibly in the parliamentary elections for the country's prosperity.

VILNIUS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania has made huge progress in the two decades since the last official visit by Jacques Chirac in 2001, visiting President Emmanuel Macron said here on Monday, referring to one of his predecessors.

"Thank you for the warm welcome during this difficult time. We try to live with COVID-19, we try to find solutions and move forward," Macron said at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda after their tete-a-tete meeting.

PABRADE, Lithuania (Reuters) - A new contingent of U.S. troops and armour will be deployed in Lithuania in November but their presence is not linked to the situation in neighbouring Belarus, Lithuania’s defence minister said on Tuesday.

Belarus has undergone six weeks of protests since a contested Aug. 9 election which President Alexander Lukashenko said he won.

Since then, Lukashenko has accused NATO of a buildup near its borders, begun military drills near the borders with Lithuania and Poland, and put half his army on the highest state of readiness.

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Polish President Andrzej Duda has told Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda he is considering imposing national sanctions on Belarus, the Lithuanian president’s office said on Friday.

“The Polish leader said he is considering to impose national sanctions on Belarus,” the office in a statement after the two leaders talked over the phone.

VILNIUS (Reuters) - The prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Saturday called on Belarus to conduct new “free and fair” elections as protests swelled against President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed poll victory.

A new vote should be held “in a transparent way with the participation of international observers”, the leaders said in a joint statement after meeting in Estonia.

They urged Belarus to refrain from violence and release political prisoners and detained protesters. They also called for European Union sanctions on those responsible for violence.

VILNIUS (Lithuania), May 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have opened their borders to one another, creating a coronavirus “travel bubble”.

From midnight on Thursday, citizens and residents can move freely between the three EU nations.

Anybody arriving from outside the zone however must self-isolate for 14 days.

This is the first “travel bubble” in Europe since nations began shutting their borders earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

VILNIUS, November 15. /TASS/: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has granted a pardon to Russian citizens Nikolai Filipchenko and Sergei Moiseyenko convicted of espionage for Russia, the presidential press service reported on Friday.

"The pardon was granted in accordance with recommendations issued by the pardon commission and based on the amendments to the [Lithuanian] criminal code adopted by the parliament that enable the head of state to do so," the press service said.

VILNIUS (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Monday he had no plans to resign now or next month, denying a report that he was expected to announce his resignation in November.

Asked about the report in Politico, the U.S. energy secretary told a news conference in Lithuania: “No. I’m here, I’m serving.”

“They’ve been writing the story for at least nine months now. One of these days they will probably get it right, but it’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, it’s not next month,” Perry said.

VILNIUS, Sept 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States will move 500 troops to Lithuania in October for a six-month deployment, returning to the Baltic region where it first sent soldiers after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.

The US military presence, part of a broader NATO deterrent, is likely to reassure Baltic allies that U.S. President Donald Trump remains committed to Europe’s eastern flank despite recent Pentagon cuts to European defence projects.