Russian gas producer Gazprom revealed, on Saturday, that it had stopped supplying gas to EU member state Latvia due to violating conditions for gas withdrawal.
"Today, Gazprom suspended its gas supplies to Latvia... due to violations of the conditions" of purchase, the company said on Telegram. It was not specified which withdrawal condition had been violated.
This step came a day after Latvian energy firm Latvijas Gaze announced that it was buying gas from Russia and paying in euros rather than in rubles.
On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told DW that cutting dependence on Russian energy was not something that could be achieved overnight.
"It [Russian energy imports] was 40% before the war, it's now 20% ... but no one can ask European economies to cut gas supplies overnight," Borrell said. "We cannot do miracles."
Last June, the Baltic nations, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian, signed an agreement to stop buying electricity in Moscow. The decision stemmed from the issues of payment. Estonia’s Elering, Latvia’s Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST), and Lithuania’s Litgrid inked the deal as they are unwilling to comply with Russia’s demand to pay in rubles.
The National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia (NEPLP) has previously decided to ban the broadcasting of the remaining 80 television channels registered in Russia which were still available for Latvian viewers.
“The decision was made based on a new legal provision stipulating that programs registered in a country which threatens the territorial integrity and independence of another country cannot operate in Latvia,” NEPLP Chairperson Ivars Abolins told BNS news agency.
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