Latest Articles about Baltics
RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT SPELLING OUT BALTIC OIL TRANSPORT PLANS
Addressing the “Pipeline Transport 2007” conference in Moscow on April 17, Transneft president Semyon Vainshtok and Deputy Industry and Energy Minister Andrei Dementiev declared that expansion of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) is currently the Russian government’s number-one priority for oil transportation (Interfax, RIA-Novosti, April... MORE
POLISH COMPANY ACQUIRES MAJORITY STAKE IN LITHUANIA’S OIL SECTOR
Lithuania’s oil industry holding, Mazeikiai Nafta, seems finally to be safe from takeover by Russian state-connected interests. The holding’s centerpiece, the Mazeikiai refinery, is the only refinery in the three Baltic states and the single most lucrative business entity in the three states. The Russian... MORE
MOSCOW PRESSING FOR CFE TREATY RATIFICATION DESPITE ITS OWN NON-COMPLIANCE
Amid a deep secrecy that belies its democratic professions, the OSCE is preparing to hold a Conference to Review the Operation of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) in Vienna at the end of this month. Some West European chancelleries are seeking ways... MORE
BIDDING FOR YUKOS ASSETS IN LITHUANIA
The bidding is officially on for the Yukos company's last remaining major asset -- the Mazeikiai oil refinery and associated enterprises in Lithuania. Those enterprises, including the Butinge oil loading maritime terminal and Birzai supply pipeline, together form the largest business entity in Lithuania. On... MORE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S BIASED RAPPORTEUR OVERRULED ON LATVIA
As anticipated (see EDM, October 24), Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur Gyorgy Frunda's alignment with Russian policy on Latvia has backfired. On November 23 in Paris, CEPA's Monitoring Committee overruled Frunda's recommendations regarding "national minority rights" in that country and discontinued the monitoring procedure... MORE
KREMLIN SIGNALS TO THE BALTS IT IS DISPLEASED WITH THEIR DEFIANT STANCE
Yesterday (November 10) Moscow denied an entry visa to Estonia's foreign minister. Although the move was allegedly prompted by the Estonian side failing to comply with certain diplomatic formalities, it appears to be a clear sign of continuing tension between the Kremlin and the Balts.... MORE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE ENVOY’S STRANGE VISIT TO LATVIA
Gyorgy Frunda, chairman of the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe's (CEPA) Parliamentary Assembly, paid a get-acquainted visit to Latvia on October 17-19 and caused political uproar in the country. Frunda, who is also one of the leaders of the Hungarian minority's party in... MORE
TNK-BP, LUKOIL, ROSNEFT VIE FOR YUKOS LEGACY IN LITHUANIA
On October 18, the Lithuanian government decided unanimously to begin negotiations with TNK-BP regarding the sale of a majority stake in Lithuania's oil-refining and oil-transport sector, the last major remaining asset of Yukos. The government's decision follows Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas' unexpected October 11 statement... MORE
BALTS, NATO, EU DIGESTING LESSONS FROM RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH IN LITHUANIA
Lithuania has completed a three-week investigation into the Russian Su-27 fighter jet's September 15 intrusion and crash in the country (see EDM, September 20, 27). The plane, flying tail in a seven-plane squadron en route from Russia's Leningrad Region to Kaliningrad Region over the Baltic... MORE
QUESTION MARKS MULTIPLY AFTER RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH IN LITHUANIA
Moscow is stonewalling Lithuania's ongoing investigation into the September 15 crash of a Russian Air Force Su-27 fighter jet deep inside Lithuania (see EDM, September 20). Russian military and political authorities ignore or evade Lithuania's questions about Russian radar data on the plane's flight path,... MORE