Lithuania lifts air alert after suspected drones approaching from Belarus diverted - Europe live

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The drone alert in Lithuania has just been lifted, with the country’s defence minister quoted by Reuters as saying that the drone flew by Lentvaris near the capital, Vilnius, before diverting in a different direction.

We will no doubt get more details on this soon.

During his talks in China, Putin said that Russia and China were committed to “independent and sovereign” foreign policy, as they signed declarations of closer cooperation.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

“Most important is that Russia and China are committed to an independent and sovereign foreign policy, are working together in close strategic cooperation and playing an important stabilising role on the global stage,” Putin said.

Erm.

Putin also said that Russia was ready to continue supplying China with energy, Reuters reported, after his talks with Xi that made him say the Russian-Chinese relations are at an “unprecedented” level.

Xi also stressed the “political mutual trust and strategic cooperation” between the countries, according to Chinese state media. The two leaders have praised each other profusely in the past, with Xi at one point describing Putin as his “best and most intimate friend, AP said.

Lithuania has issued an air alert this morning warning its population near the capital, Vilnius, to shelter in place, the latest Baltic country to see drone incidents impact its life after Estonia and Latvia.

“Lithuania has issued an air alert in parts of the country after a suspected drone approaching from Belarus was detected near the border. Nato Baltic Air Policing has been activated,” Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence