First EU country breaks free from Russian gas

The government in Lithuania announced today Saturday April 2 that it is the first country in the EU that breaks free from Russian gas imports, the first nation in Europe to have secured its independence from the country’s supply.

In a statement released by the government they said that all domestic gas consumption will be imported via liquefied natural gas (LPG) via the terminal in Klaipeda.

President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted: “From this month on – no more Russian gas in Lithuania,” Lithuanian President tweeted on Saturday, saying the country is breaking “energy ties with the aggressor.

“If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too,” he added.

From this month on – no more Russian gas in Lithuania 🇱🇹.

Years ago my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the agressor.

If we can do it, the rest of Europe 🇪🇺 can do it too!

— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) April 2, 2022

The port to be used, Klaipeda, was competed in 2014 to end Russian gas supplies then for what the president at the time, Dalia Grybauskaite, called an “existential threat” to the country.

In making the announcement the country said that it was finally free of the demands and threats from Russia including the requirement to pay in roubles, a demand some in Europe have described as blackmail.

The Energy Ministry said: “Under the circumstances, Russia’s demand to pay for the gas in roubles becomes meaningless, because Lithuania is no longer ordering gas and does not expect any further payments.”

Lithuania whilst freeing itself from Russian gas, will still continue to allow the transit of the product through to the Kaliningrad enclave, with the country’s gas grid showing roughly the same amount of gas entering from Belarus was being exported.

The transit of gas through countries such as Lithuania is a significant revenue earner, providing much needed revenue while allowing the country to break free from Russian gas domestically.

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