Lithuanian president sees no reason to end gas transit deal with Russia

VILNIUS - President Gitanas Nausėda said on Thursday that he sees no reason why Amber Grid's contract with Gazprom for gas transit through Lithuania to Russia's Kaliningrad region should not be extended when it expires at the end of this year.

According to the president, Lithuania is ready to cooperate on gas transit to the Russian exclave and to negotiate terms that would be favorable for Vilnius.

"I see no reason not to extend it. All the infrastructure is in place, our interests are there, and some of the terms of the contract have been changed and are currently more beneficial for Lithuania than in the previous contract," Nauseda told reporters in Vilnius.

"We're ready to avoid creating additional sources of tension and to cooperate in this specific area, but on terms that are acceptable to Lithuania," he added.

The president underlined the European Union's policy of ensuring the transit of energy resources and goods to regions that are separated from the main territories of their states.

"We must understand that Kaliningrad is surrounded by EU territory on all sides, and there needs to be some form of communication with the mainland," Nausėda said.

"But it must happen without us being threatened, without blackmail, but on equal, economically acceptable terms for Lithuania," he added.

Asked whether Vilnius would consider ending the gas transit contract to pressure Russia, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Wednesday that Vilnius had no intention of unilaterally escalating tensions with Moscow.

Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas, for his part, said on Wednesday that a decision on extending the agreement would be made at the end of the year.

Both the minister and the prime minister emphasized that the transit issue is not bilateral, and the decision on extending the contract must be made at the European level.

Lithuania's gas transmission system operator Amber Grid signed the 10-year gas transit contract with Russia's gas giant Gazprom in late December 2015. The previous contract had been signed at the end of 1999.

Lithuania cut off Russian gas imports entirely in April 2022, except for transit via its territory to the Kaliningrad exclave.