Presidents of Latvia and Lithuania Discuss Energy Independence

Latvia's President, Edgars Rinkēvičs, made his second foreign visit as president to Lithuania, where he met with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda to discuss the energy independence of the Baltic countries, according to Latvian Television.

The Lithuanian President called on his Lithuanian counterpart to accelerate the synchronization of the Baltic countries' power grids with continental Europe.

"A complete departure from Russian and Belarusian power grids is a common goal for us. And this is what we need to do as quickly as possible. In recent history, we have seen many times that Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - the three Baltic countries - have been much more successful in achieving common geopolitical goals when they act together," said Gitanas Nausėda.

Lithuania is also considering the possibility of synchronization independently, but this is still subject to discussion.

For its part, Latvia hopes for a joint decision. After all, all three Baltic countries are in agreement on leaving the Russian and Belarusian networks.

"We need to consider that this affects all three Baltic countries and will impact them differently, both technically and financially. We are ready to accelerate the exit [from BRELL]. But we must find a way that is cheaper, more efficient, and less technically problematic for each Baltic country - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania," said Rinkēvičs.

During the security discussions, both presidents agreed that the presence of the Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus worsens the security situation in the region.

The main topics of discussion were the implementation of decisions recently adopted at the NATO Vilnius Summit and regional security. Both presidents expressed great satisfaction with the results achieved at the summit.

"I would say that the security situation in the region has deteriorated. I believe that we must also take seriously the latest information about the transportation and arrival of mercenaries in Belarus, and we must be prepared for any scenarios. We cannot exclude scenarios of hybrid warfare, such as using migration as a weapon in an attempt to infiltrate mercenaries and use them in this hybrid war," said Latvia's President, Edgars Rinkēvičs.

There is also consensus among the Baltic countries regarding the need to expand support for Ukraine and continue imposing sanctions against Russia and Belarus.