Asked by the public broadcaster LRT whether Lithuania could expect lower price for gas after the talks with Gazprom, Butkevičius said: “I think they [the talks] won’t be easy. Considering what I was told yesterday about that first meeting, it gave an impression that it won’t be easy and we will have to negotiate very intensively.”
According to Butkevičius, the first meeting between the representatives of Lithuania’s government and Gazprom, which took place in Vilnius on Thursday, was to be dedicated to drawing the agenda of future talks, yet the Russians were inclined to open the negotiations right away.
“There was a meeting and I may say that it was agreed by phone before that the participants would only discuss the agenda. Yet it seemed that they were inclined to open the negotiations… The talks can only be opened with the head of that task group, the Energy Minister, being present,” Butkevičius said.
The representatives of Gazprom and Lithuania might meet again within a couple of weeks, he added.
