Baltic states clash over unified Russia policy as Lithuania hesitates on stricter measures

Lithuania is facing criticism from its Baltic neighbors, Estonia and Latvia, for what they perceive as a lack of sufficiently coordinated policies toward Russia. According to Žygimantas Pavilionis, a member of the opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats, both Estonian and Latvian officials have expressed concerns that Lithuania's positions are not closely aligned with theirs.

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Both the aforementioned Estonian and many Latvians have accused us, and continue to accuse us, of not really coordinating our positions with the Latvians and Estonians.

"Both the aforementioned Estonian and many Latvians have accused us, and continue to accuse us, of not really coordinating our positions with the Latvians and Estonians," Pavilionis told Elta. He noted that Lithuania is often more tolerant towards its Russian and Belarusian minorities.

In contrast, Aušrinė Norkienė of the ruling Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union believes Lithuania is principled enough on Russia-related issues and sees no need to "race" with Latvia and Estonia. "Each country has its own specifics. We are not monolithic, and I think that is normal," Norkienė stated, adding that Lithuania should not overstep in its efforts to be the first to implement certain measures.

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I do not think there is some kind of race between one country and another. Each country has its own specifics. We are not monolithic, and I think that is normal.

Cultural expert Darius Kuolys, an advisor to Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius, suggested that Lithuania should base its decisions on potential restrictions related to Russian culture on its own traditions, rather than solely following the example of its Baltic neighbors.

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If we have limited resources, then let's invest in learning EU languages.

Latvia has already banned the import of Russian and Belarusian printed materials and video games, and both Latvia and Estonia are gradually phasing out Russian-language education, aiming for instruction solely in their national languages within five years. Pavilionis advocates for Lithuania to follow suit, suggesting that instead of funding education in Russian, which he believes may harbor "imperial ambitions," Lithuania should integrate more languages from EU member states into its education system. He argued that limited resources should be invested in learning EU languages, especially given Lithuania's multilingualism, rather than in the language of an "occupier" used for "imperial consolidation."

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Russian language seems like an innocent thing, but in reality...