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BERLIN — Lithuania has stopped importing pure fuel from Russia as of April and can have the ability to rely as a substitute on deliveries from different international locations to fulfill its vitality wants, the nation’s president introduced on Saturday, saying the transfer was an instance for different European Union members.
Earlier than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the E.U. had been searching for methods to cut back its dependency on Russian fossil fuels, together with coal and oil, however particularly fuel. Almost 40 p.c of the bloc’s complete pure fuel got here from Russia. However since Moscow ordered tanks into Ukraine on Feb. 24, member states have been extra actively in search of methods to chop their fuel wants.
“If we will do it, the remainder of Europe can do it too,” Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuania’s president, stated on Twitter on Saturday.
Whereas Lithuania is a tiny nation with solely 2.8 million individuals and an economic system extra reliant on commerce than trade, it’s the largest economic system within the Baltic States and likewise a member of the eurozone. So whereas dropping Lithuania as a buyer is unlikely to considerably harm Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned vitality group, the transfer has geopolitical significance in setting a precedent for the E.U.
“I believe it’s a symbolic step by Lithuania, which has lengthy tried to be within the vanguard of lowering and probably eliminating its dependence on Russian fuel,” stated Katja Yafimava, a senior analysis fellow on the Oxford Institute for Vitality Research. She added that Germany, France and Italy couldn’t simply make the same transfer as a result of they depend on a lot increased volumes of Russian fuel and are sure to long-term contracts.
Lithuania borders on the Russian territory of Kaliningrad and was as soon as absolutely depending on imports of Russian fuel — a legacy of the nation’s historical past as a part of the previous Soviet Union. However building of a liquefied pure fuel terminal in 2014 allowed it to start transferring away from dependence on Russia.
Final week, President Vladimir V. Putin threatened to chop off fuel provides to “unfriendly international locations,” except the international locations began paying for the provides in rubles. European leaders rejected the concept, but it surely remained unclear how the standoff may be resolved. Germany and Italy, particularly, are closely depending on Russian fuel, though Germany has not too long ago secured partnerships with america and different energy-rich international locations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has known as on E.U. international locations to cease shopping for fuel from Russia, going as far as to induce Qatar and different vitality producers to extend their fuel exports to Europe as a part of a drive to cut back the continent’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
Earlier this yr, Lithuania’s vitality minister stated the nation was capable of order sufficient deliveries of LNG to fulfill its vitality wants. If vital, it may additionally obtain fuel deliveries by way of a hyperlink with Latvia.
“We’re the primary E.U. nation amongst Gazprom’s provide international locations to realize independence from Russian fuel provides, and that is the results of a multiyear coherent vitality coverage and well timed infrastructure selections,” Dainius Kreivys, the nation’s vitality minister, stated in a press release on Saturday.
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