Baltic states eye Russia as they prepare for bigger EU roles

Latvia will assume the presidency of the European Union, and Lithuania will adopt the euro tomorrow, raising their EU profile at a time of spiralling tension with neighbouring Russia.

Like Estonia to the north and Poland to the south, Latvia and Lithuania favour a tough response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

They are alarmed by President Vladimir Putin's assertion of his right to defend Russian speakers beyond his country's borders, and by a surge this year in Russian air force and naval activity near Nato states, particularly around the Baltic Sea.

Latvia takes the helm of the EU amid renewed diplomatic efforts on the Ukrainian crisis, with talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France slated for January 15th in Kazakhstan.

Though seen as "hawkish" on relations with Russia, as EU president Latvia will have to mediate between members that support stronger sanctions and those that want to return as quickly as possible to "business as usual" with Moscow.

"One thing we are not going to be is an 'anti-Russian or 'pro-Russian' presidency, or a presidency that does not take into account the views of all member states," said Latvia's foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics.

“If we see things improving in eastern Ukraine, if Russia becomes part of the solution rather than part of the problem, we can soften or even lift some sanctions. If things get worse, inevitably we have to use this instrument.”

The three Baltic states, which were under Moscow’s control from 1944-1991, have pledged to boost funding for Nato protection of their airspace, and Riga is braced for more pressure from Russia during its six-month presidency.

"I am convinced that we will observe attempts to belittle both the country and state officials," Latvian defence minister Raimonds Vejonis said this month.

“We have to face that, and we are preparing for that.”

In dealings with Moscow, Riga will count on the support of Donald Tusk, the former Polish premier who is now president of the European Council, and on Lithuania, which is arguably the most outspoken EU critic of Mr Putin.

Security concerns

The country of three million people has said it may supply weapons to Ukraine, and in September its president,

Dalia Grybauskaite

, outraged Russia by saying it was “terrorising its neighbours and using terrorist methods”.

"We were occupied for 50 years, and we know how to deal with this neighbour. What is surprising is that countries far away that have never been touched by aggressive Russian policy are afraid of dealing with Russia," she told the Washington Post.

Surveys suggest that Lithuanians’ enthusiasm for the euro – which many fear will elevate prices – has grown slightly as Ukraine’s conflict has worsened.

"Security concerns, I must admit, were among the reasons for the popular support for euro adoption," said Lithuania's finance minister Rimantas Sadzius, calling entry into the euro zone "the third most important step in Lithuania's quest to integrate itself into the western European community" after joining the EU and Nato in 2004.