"It was a three-party working meeting between representatives of the government, the European Commission, and Gazprom. We do not comment on details (of the meeting)," Evelina Butkute Lazdauskienė, the spokeswoman, told BNS on Wednesday.
The business daily Verslo Žinios reported on Wednesday that Gazprom Vice-president Alexander Medvedev visited Vilnius last Friday, ahead of Butkevičius' visit to Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lithuanian officials say unofficially that Gazprom seeks new negotiations on "a whole package of relations" and in exchange for discounts on gas prices, wants Lithuania to scrap its gas sector reform, sign a long-term supply contract and withdraw its 1.5-billion-euro claim for damages filed with the Stockholm arbitration court.
No decisions
According to Prime Minister Butkevičius, it was Lithuania’s Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič who held a working meeting with Alexander Medvedev, vice-president of Russia’s gas concern Gazprom, in Vilnius last week. No specific decisions had been made, according to him.
“It was a working meeting and I think there will be more similar meetings in the future as the conversation and discussions center on economic relations, on certain agreements, most probably future ones, on the signing of gas supply contract. Certainly, there are many other issues which call for meetings, separate discussions,” Butkevičius said in comments published by the Prime Minister’s press service.
He said that he had not attended the meeting with Gazprom representatives. Butkevičius also pointed out that Lithuania did not back down on its intentions to reorganize its gas sector in order to bring it into line with the requirements of the European Union’s (EU) third energy package.
“Energy Minister has assured that the implementation of the third energy package in the gas sector will continue, there will be no changes under this government and this work shall be finalized in 2014, alongside the completion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal,” Butkevičius said.
