Lithuania Becomes First EU Country to Give up on Russian Gas Supplies

On Saturday, Lithuania became the first EU country to completely give up on the import of natural gas from Russia.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Energy said in a statement that the country's gas transportation system is operating as of the beginning of this month without any imports from Russia.

The ministry noted that this decision comes due to the Vilnius government's efforts to gain complete independence from Russian gas.

The ministry confirmed that the data of the "Amber Grid" company, which operates the gas transportation system in Lithuania, indicates that the index of Russian gas imports aimed at meeting internal needs through Belarus is still at zero this month.

The statement mentioned that the country meets its needs in the field of natural gas by importing liquefied natural gas through a pumping station established in Klaipeda port, which entered service in December 2014.

The ministry emphasized that this measure comes in response to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, holding Moscow responsible for using the energy file to extort blackmail.

Contributed by Israa Farhan