Lithuania’s president has said he supports the continuation of a gas transit deal to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave after it expires later this year—provided the terms benefit Vilnius.
The contract signed between Lithuania’s Amber Grid and Russia’s Gazprom in 2015 runs out in December 2025.
In April 2022, after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania suspended all gas imports from Moscow.
The only exception was made for gas transit to the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea coast, which Lithuanian ministers said is an EU-level agreement.
“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 the previous contract,” President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters in the Lithuanian capital on Thursday.
“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.
Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas also supported the president’s stance. However, Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas said a final decision would be made at the end of the year.
Both ministers stressed decisions on transit with regions of Russia separated from the mainland are made at the EU level, not bilaterally.
“This issue isn’t just about Lithuania and the Kaliningrad region—it’s also an important matter for the European Union, and EU institutions will need to be involved in the process,” Vaičiūnas said.
He said Lithuania receives up to €20 million in revenue from gas transit to Kaliningrad each year.
