FRANKFURT, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Germany will prevent Russia from driving a wedge between European Union members on a Baltic Sea pipeline project, an official said Monday as leaders prepared to tackle the sensitive issue.

'The Russians must understand they cannot take European states hostage one by one to further their interests, there will be a common European Union position,' German government envoy Andreas Schockenhoff told SWR radio.

VILNIUS, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Poland's demands for the lion's share of output from a planned nuclear power plant in Lithuania could be met, provided its capacity can be boosted, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said Thursday.

'If the results of the environmental study are favourable and if we can build a nuclear plant with a capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts, these requirements may be met,' Kirkilas told journalists on the sidelines of an international energy conference in Vilnius.

VILNIUS, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The leaders of Poland and Lithuania Wednesday dismissed suggestions that a dispute over sharing output from a new nuclear power plant was hampering a related accord on linking their power grids.

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, speaking after a meeting with his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski, said that they 'came to the commitment that the electric bridge has to be built, and will be built.'

The two countries had been expected to sign the grid deal on the sidelines of a wider energy conference in Lithuania this week.

VILNIUS, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The Baltic states and Poland have postponed a deal on building a new nuclear power station to replace a Soviet-era plant, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas told AFP on Wednesday.

'It is most likely that the agreement on the construction of the new nuclear power plant will be signed in November, after the elections in Poland,' Kirkilas said.

VILNIUS, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Poland said Friday that it wants the lion's share of the output of a new nuclear power plant that it plans to build in a joint project with the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Polish Economy minister Piotr Wozniak, who was visiting Vilnius, hinted that Warsaw could go slow on other power projects if it did not get its way on the planned Lithuanian-based facility.

'All projects will end up behind schedule unless we get a capacity of 1,200 megawatts,' warned Wozniak.

VILNIUS, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - The Baltic states and Poland are next week likely to ink a deal to build a new nuclear power plant to replace Lithuania's ageing Ignalina facility, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said Tuesday.

'There are no particular issues of dispute, and we could sign a declaration' on the sidelines of a summit in Vilnius next week, Kirkilas told reporters following a cabinet session.

He said he planned to discuss the plan during a meeting with his counterparts from Estonia and Latvia later Tuesday in the Latvian capital Riga.

TALLINN, Aug 8, 2007 (AFP) - The Baltic states lined up beside Georgia Wednesday after it accused former overlord Russia of launching an air raid on its territory.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves spoke by telephone with his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili, telling him Monday's incident was inadmissible and had trampled Georgia's sovereignty, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported.

'A speedy, thorough and objective international inquiry to find out all the circumstances of this incident is called for,' Ilves was quoted as saying.

VILNIUS, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - The Baltic states and Poland will ask the European Commission to study alternatives to a disputed Russian-German undersea gas pipeline project, Lithuanian Economics Minister Vytas Navickas said on Tuesday.

'The text of the document is basically approved it should be signed and sent to the European Commission this week,' Navickas told AFP.

'We expect the answer from the Commission this year and believe that the reply will be positive,' he said.