Presidents forgive Polish no-show

  • 2007-10-31
  • By Talis Saule Archdeacon

RIGA - The presidents of the three Baltic states agreed at their annual meeting in Riga on Oct. 30 to throw their support behind Polish participation in a joint nuclear power plant project despite recent disagreements over the issue.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski had also planned to attend the meeting, but was forced to call off the trip to deal with political turmoil in his home country. The Baltic leaders said they understood the Polish absence and that they hoped Poland would continue to be a valuable ally in the project.
"We are optimistic and hope that cooperation with the new Polish government will be swifter," Latvian President Valdis Zatlers told journalists after the meeting. He also said that Poland seems to be interested in expanding its cooperation with the Baltic states.

The president went on to say, however, that the Baltic states are prepared to follow through with the project whether Poland is on board or not. "We agreed that we could not stop and wait. Poland will not be the one to hold us back from the project," Zatlers said.
Poland seemed to throw its participation in the new power plant into doubt in October by making eleventh hour demands for a larger than expected share of the plant's output.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus assured journalists that Poland will not hamper the project in any way, and that the country "needs" to take part in the deal. He also drew attention to interest that the European Union has shown in building a power bridge connecting Poland with the Baltic states.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, meanwhile, said that he considers Poland a good friend and ally. He said that numerous delays in the project 's which have been putting a considerable amount of strain on the deal 's were mostly the fault of Lithuania failing to properly communicate with its neighbors.
The presidents also discussed deepening their countries' already close cooperation in foreign affairs 's particularly with regards to Russia and the EU.
"The meeting today will contribute to the Baltic countries' closer cooperation in foreign affairs," Adamkus said. "If we jointly protect our interests, our voice in the European Union will get stronger."