Lithuania decries “energy blackmail,” calls Moscow’s demand for payment in rubles “meaningless”
Lithuania’s government said on Saturday that it has halted all purchases of Russian natural gas, making irrelevant President Vladimir Putin’s demand that all “unfriendly states”In spite of heavy sanctions placed on Moscow for its involvement in the Ukraine conflict, you can still pay the fuel price in rubles
“In these circumstances, Russia’s demand to pay for gas in rubles is meaningless, as Lithuania no longer orders Russian gas and no longer plans to pay for it,”In a statement, the Lithuanian Energy Ministry stated.
According to Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys, Lithuania was the first EU country traditionally supplied by Gazprom (Russian state-owned giant of gas), which allowed it to eliminate all imports from Moscow. “This is the result of a multi-year, coherent energy policy and timely infrastructure decisions,”He stated.
The ministry said that Lithuania’s gas distribution network has been operating without any supplies from Russia since Friday, which was Putin’s deadline for payment in rubles. It was done in response. “Russia’s energy blackmail”According to the statement, the declaration also mentions the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin’s demand required buyers to open ruble accounts in Russian banks through which to pay for their gas. “If such payments aren’t made, we will consider this a failure by the client to comply with its obligations,”He stated this Thursday. Germany and Austria responded by activating emergency plans to prevent gas rationing.
All of Lithuania’s gas supplies now come through the Klaipeda LNG import terminal on the country’s Baltic Sea coast. According to the Energy Ministry, there are three cargoes that will arrive at the terminal each month. If necessary, gas can be delivered via links to Latvia or Poland.
Russia provides 40% of EU countries’ gas and a third of their oil. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nuseda called on EU member countries to stop oil and gas imports from Russia. “Europe must stop buying Russian gas and oil because the Kremlin regime uses this money to finance destruction of Ukrainian cities and attacks on peaceful civilians,”On Thursday, Nauseda spoke to reporters.
Viktor Orban (Hungarian Prime Minster) said Friday that Russia’s gas supply would no longer be available to some countries. Moreover, Siegfried Russwurm, President of Federation of German Industries said Thursday that German industry will be able to replace Russian gas supplies. “collapse”It would be cut off to Russian gas.
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