Lithuania

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Negotiations on a new EU-Russia treaty could be held up despite Russia's pull-back from Georgia "buffer zones" on Wednesday (8 October), with Lithuania pushing for Russian troop scale-back in South Ossetia and Abkhazia also before talks restart."[Lithuania] wants the EU to respect the agreements created by Sarkozy," an EU diplomat told EUobserver. "It is hoping for the company of other new EU member states, the Nordic countries and London."Russian soldiers on Wednesday left two seven-kilometre-wide strips of land surrounding the Georgia breakaway regions of South Ossetia...

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Parliament is the least trusted institution in Lithuania, so the appeal of a fresh face is strong. That is why the host of an "American Idol"-style show may do well in Sunday's election.Founded by talent show presenter Arunas Valinskas just a few months ago, the National Resurrection Party scored 10 percent in a recent poll of people who planned to vote, which would make it fifth biggest in the 141-seat assembly.It would also give the host of "Stars Gate" a seat.

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The credit crunch has killed a consumer-led boom in the European Union's Baltic newcomers and now threatens the bloc's Balkan economies with a bumpy economic landing at best.Latvia and Estonia are in recession, and economists expect Lithuania to see a sharp drop in growth this year.To the south, Romania and Bulgaria are expected to actually accelerate, but analysts say chances are growing that their fast-paced economies will slam on the brakes as credit dries up.

VILNIUS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Lithuanian central bank governor Reinoldijus Sarkinas said on Tuesday the bank was ready to lend up to 1 billion litas ($394 million) to raise the liquidity of banks, but no support was needed at the moment.Officials in Latvia and Estonia have also said that their banks are safe, with reserves above the required level and low levels of bad debt despite an economic downturn.

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Former Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas is using a movie about his life as a stunt pilot to pull off another trick: resurrecting his political career after becoming the only European head of state ever impeached out of office.The movie, ``The Pilot,'' has helped push Paksas's Order & Justice party to second place in opinion polls, giving it a shot at joining the next coalition government after parliamentary elections on Oct. 12.Paksas, 52, promised to hold a referendum on restoring the death penalty and to keep the Ignalina nuclear plant open beyond its scheduled 2009...

LITHUANIA The media claim that the pro-Georgian position of the Lithuanian Government and its statements in support of Georgia is the right step. Still, they admit the necessity of a constructive dialogue with the Kremlin, since confrontation with Russia will negatively affect Lithuania as well as other countries. “Among the dozens of flights from Vilnius to Tbilisi by Lithuanian officials, a single flight from Vilnius to Moscow would be very instrumental. The Russian-Georgian conflict, which provoked a huge tide of nationalism in both countries, marks a new stage of development in the region...

SIAULIAI, Lithuania (AFNS) -- For the second time in history, an American flag was raised over the Quick Reaction Facility in Siauliai during a ceremony marking the U.S. Air Force's assumption of responsibility for the NATO Baltic air policing mission.

Lithuanian academic blasts war crimes probe of ex-Yad Vashem chief-News and commentary relating to events in Israel, the occupied territories, and the world, along with an archive of past issues

By Carolyn Cohn and Nerijus AdomaitisLONDON/VILNIUS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Ratings agency Fitch said on Friday it downgraded the ratings of Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and kept their outlooks on negative, citing worries about the countries' current account deficits.Fitch downgraded Estonia's foreign currency rating to A- from A, Latvia to BBB from BBB+ and Lithuania to A- from A.

U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried thinks that Lithuania should aspire to establish good relations with Russia at any cost.It is not Lithuania that started confrontation with Russia; it is Russia that created problems by intruding a neighboring country, Fried said on the air of the Lithuanian National TV within the framework of this visit to Vilnius.Lithuania is a NATO member, and NATO is a serious organization, and Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for collective security, is a serious obligation, the diplomat said.Asked if the Baltic...