New road linking Baltic states to Poland opens at a time of tensions with Russia

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VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A major road connecting the three Baltic states to Poland opened Monday at a time of rising tensions between Europe and Russia.

The road known as Via Baltica will pass through a narrow strip of land between Belarus and Russia ’s Kaliningrad exclave, called the Suwalki Gap, which has often been described as a potential targe t if Russia were to attack NATO.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, at an inauguration ceremony on the border between their countries, said the road was the region's most important corridor and highlighted its role in the region's defense. NATO troops could potentially move faster in aid of the Baltics by using Via Baltica.

“This road has a dual purpose – it will help our economy and strengthen the defense capabilities of our region," Nawrocki said Monday.

Poland and its Baltic neighbors have been on high alert since multiple Russian drones entered Polish territory and Russian fighter jets crossed into Estonian air space in September.

The 970-kilometer-long (600-mile-long) Via Baltica route starts in Warsaw, Poland, and passes through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, where it finishes in Tallinn. It is part of the European route E67, which links Finland to Czechia.

The four-lane A5 highway connecting Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city, with Suwalki in Poland is also a part of Via Baltica.

Several northbound sections of Via Baltica are still just two lanes and will be expanded later, Lithuania's Transportation Ministry says.

Nausėda said the road symbolizes “freedom, prosperity and security,” and that it “plays an extremely important economic, commercial, and logistical role in Lithuania, connecting us with the rest of the European market.”