“The report does not reflect the actual situation since Lithuania’s institutions have not received any official information about such a meeting on April 25,” Rasa Jakilaitienė, an adviser to foreign minister, told BNS.
Russia claims that the Lithuanian legislation on joining the European Union's Third Energy Package violates the rights of Russian investors and plans to try to reach a settlement with Lithuania through talks planned on April 25, Interfax has reported on Wednesday.
“Consultations will be held in Vilnius on April 25 between the Russian Federation and Lithuania at the level of senior officials who are responsible for those bilateral negotiations [on the Russian side, representatives of the trade negotiations department of the Economic Development Ministry]. The consultations will be based on the agreement to protect and encourage capital investments between the Russian Federation and Lithuania. The reason for them is legislation that has been passed in Lithuania and, from the Russian point of view, violates the rights of Russian investors in the energy sector," the news agency quoted Maxim Medvedkov, director of the trade negotiations department, as saying.
He said that the talks would be bilateral and did not mention a possibility for the European Commission (EC) to take part in the negotiations as a third party.
Meanwhile, Lithuania wants the Commission to take part in the talks on the Third Energy Package. In particular, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius said earlier this week that Lithuania had invited representatives of the EU executive body to participate in negotiations.
Butkevičius also said that he expected the talks with Gazprom on the price of gas for Lithuania and the energy package to be opened late in April or early in May.
Lithuania plans to unbundle the assets of Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas), in which Gazprom holds a 37.1-percent stake, by the end of 2014 to bring it into line with the Third Energy Package. Gas transmission pipelines of the Lithuanian gas import and distribution company will be spun off into a new company, Amber Grid, during the first stage of unbundling at the end of July.
