Lithuania has legally banned the import of Russian natural gas to the country, except for its transit to the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
On Tuesday, the Seimas adopted the relevant amendments to the Law on Natural Gas: 123 members of the Seimas voted in favor, two abstained. Under the new law, Klaipedos nafta’s national gas transportation system and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal will be available only to suppliers from countries that do not pose a threat to national security, with the exception of suppliers who transport gas in transit to Kaliningrad.
Back in early March, Klaipedos Nafta suspended the acceptance of cargo by the Russian company Novatek after the European Union imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch Gennady Tymchenko, who can be considered a controlling person of the Novatek group, due to the war in Ukraine. In addition, since April, Lithuania, seeking full independence from Gazprom and responding to Russia’s energy blackmail in Europe and the war in Ukraine, has completely refused to supply Russian gas through the pipeline.
Currently, Russian gas continues to be transited in transit through Lithuania to Kaliningrad, but in a different from the usual technical mode, which provides only the transfer of the amount of gas needed for transit.
