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Taavi Roivas in Vilnius. Photo: lrv.lt

Prime Minister Taavi Roivas said this at a joint news conference with his Lithuanian and Latvian counterparts when asked if it was true that Estonia had effectively said "no" to the project back in 2012.

Joint infrastructure and energy projects of the Baltic countries increase regional security, Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas said at the meeting of Baltic heads of government in Lithuania on Monday.

According to Roivas the railway project Rail Baltica and energy links are a clear priority of the three Baltic states, spokespeople for the government said. "Independence and good connections with Europe will strengthen the security of our region," he said.

In his words, a positive decision made at the meeting was to move forward as fast as possible with the Rail Baltic transnational agreement that establishes important details of the rail connection and present it to heads of government for consideration in June 2016.

Commenting on the inauguration of NordBalt, an undersea cable between Sweden and Lithuania, and the power link LitPol connecting Lithuania and Poland, Roivas said the launch of two additional power connections means increased reliability of supply and downward pressure on electricity prices for Estonia.

With regard to security, the meeting puts in focus preparation for NATO's Warsaw summit, current state of Eastern Partnership and harmonization of positions on migration and strengthening of the European Union's external borders. Roivas said it has to be taken into consideration that the security situation in the world has become unpredictable for some time to come.

"We must direct our efforts towards preparing for the NATO summit in Warsaw so as to ensure long-term presence of our allies. Coordination of the positions of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ahead of the Warsaw summit is vital," the head of the Estonian government emphasized.