On Tuesday, July 23, the successor of the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, Gitanas Nausēda made his first working visit to Latvia. In the course of his stay, he met with the President of Latvia Egils Levits.
Following their meeting, Levits admitted that both he and the government wish to resolve the Maritime Border Treaty with Lithuania.
“This issue is long overdue, and it is also a matter of international law. But I can say that there is much willingness on Latvia's part,” said Levits.
Latvia had been previously called upon to launch the ratification process of the maritime border treaty when the Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis visited the country last year. The treaty, which has been signed but not ratified by Latvia, has caused disputes over the division of the coastal shelf.
The Lithuanian President noted that the ratification of the treaty is stalled at the moment, but said there were options to resolve disagreements over the use of the seabed resources in the region.
