Lithuania has become the first EU country to abandon Russian gas altogether after Russia asked European countries to provide ruble gas in response to the occupation of Ukraine, the country’s energy ministry said.
“Lithuania’s gas exchange system has been operating without Russian gas imports since the beginning of this month,” the Lithuanian Energy Ministry said in a statement. Press release.
This is confirmed by data from Lithuanian gas transmission operator Amber Grit, which shows that on April 2, Russian gas imports through the Lithuania-Belarus connection were 0 MW.
All of Lithuania’s gas needs are met by a liquefied natural gas terminal in Clapetta, a port city on the Baltic Sea. If necessary, gas can be pumped from Latvia, and from May 1 – by contact with Poland.
Energy Minister Danius Grivis talks about a turning point in Lithuania’s energy independence.
“We are the first EU country to get gas from Gasprom and gain independence from Russia’s gas supply,” he said.
“There will be no Russian gas in Lithuania from this month. Many years ago, my country made decisions that now allow it to easily sever energy ties with the occupiers. If we can, it could be all over Europe,” he said.
Russia demands ruble gas charge
Vladimir Putin threatens Europe with “gas” weapon. The head of the Kremlin said after signing the decree that foreigners buying Russian gas must pay in Russian currency from Friday, “Pay in rubles or we will close the supply of natural gas.”
In addition, countries and companies must open ruble accounts in Russian banks.
In Romania, experts say, at present, we still have gas in our warehouses and we are producing enough that we have no problem this spring.
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation: “We have signed an order establishing rules for the trading of natural gas in Russia with so-called non-aligned states. We will assume that the consequences are inconsistent and will follow.No one will sell anything for free and we will not do any charitable activities so we will terminate the existing contracts.
The statement comes a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Gazprom would receive money only in rubles. However, such a rapid change would violate existing agreements, which, according to European officials, have said they will not comply with the request.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia would not suspend gas supplies to Europe from April 1, and that Putin’s order would take effect in the second half of this month or early March.
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