“We stated clearly during the meeting [with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller] that the Third Energy Package is not something to be discussed, same as the issue of arbitration since it falls in the remit of the lawyers. We continued working intensively with Lithuania’s lawyers before the meeting with Gazprom’s representatives and I have to say that there are absolutely no thoughts that it might be possible to dismiss this lawsuit at Lithuania’s initiative,” Algirdas Butkevičius said in an interview to the Lithuanian Radio on Tuesday.
Butkevičius told BNS after the meeting with Miller last Friday that “arbitration is the most sensitive, one of probably the most sensitive issues for them” and that the Russian concern would send its proposals in writing for negotiating at expert level.
“As far as the withdrawal of the suit is concerned, we told them that we have no such possibilities, do not see such possibilities now. This is something to discuss separately after comparing the price of gas in Lithuania with those in other countries. Those things should be entrusted to professionals to discuss further… The decision on arbitration cannot be taken in the environment we had today. We stated straightaway that we see this issue as a political matter,” he told BNS in an interview on Friday.
Butkevičius stated repeatedly on Tuesday that Lithuania did not plan to make any concessions to Gazprom.
“There are no concessions, I have repeated this I don’t know how many times. We stated that our issues had been coordinated with the European Commission, that we could negotiate on this and that within the framework of the Third Energy Package. There can be no discussions about Stockholm arbitration. And I don’t want to hear those speculations in Lithuania,” he said.
Meanwhile Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič admitted on Tuesday that the negotiators were talking about concessions, yet he refused to disclose them.
“Of course,” he said in response to a question whether certain concessions to the Russian company were being negotiated.
Asked to specify those concessions, the minister said he could not do that.
“Commercial matters are not public in principle. The state is interested in a better price and you have to reach an agreement in order to get that. As long as there is no agreement, there is nothing to inform you about,” Neverovič said.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in Vilnius last Friday that the gas giant would reduce the price of gas for Lithuania if the country agreed to negotiate ‘integrated cooperation’ and the negotiations were to include Gazprom’s investments in Lithuania, its transit of gas to Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad and commercial issues.
