VILNIUS – Commenting on the contract for gas transit through Lithuania to Russia's Kaliningrad region, which is set to expire at the end of this year, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Wednesday that Vilnius does not intend to unilaterally escalate tensions with Moscow.
"When it comes to any pressure – or not exerting it – we have to understand that escalating these relations is not in Lithuania's interest. Lithuania has never threatened its neighbors or tried to pressure them by any means," Paluckas told reporters when asked whether Vilnius is considering ending the contract to put pressure on Russia.
"We certainly have no intention of using these instruments for absolutely unnecessary escalation," he added.
Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said earlier on Wednesday that a decision on extending the contract will be made at the end of the year.
Vaiciunas noted that this is not just a bilateral matter and that it will be decided at the European level.
"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," he told reporters after the State Defense Council's meeting.
Paluckas said that the gas transit contract would not be extended if Europe decided against it.
"Gas transit is a European issue, and it should remain so. If all of Europe decided that ensuring such gas transit was no longer necessary, that decision would be implemented," he said.
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.
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