Geopolitics plagued Lithuanians to join euro zone next month

Kybartai, Lithuania

GEOPOLITICS plague Lithuanians at this frozen Russian border post, where a return trip by car can mean 48 hours of queuing. It is a reminder for some of why the former Soviet republic will cement its move to the West by joining the euro zone next month.

Tensions with Moscow have simmered ever since Lithuania became the first republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, although only 6 per cent of the population are Russian speakers, far fewer than in its Baltic neighbours.