RIGA (Latvia), April 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The head of Latvia’s natural gas storage operator said the Baltic states were no longer importing Russian natural gas.
“If there were still any doubts about whether there may be any trust in deliveries from Russia, current events clearly show us that there is no more trust,” said Uldis Bariss, CEO of Conexus Baltic Grid.
“Since Apr 1 Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania,” he told Latvian radio.
He added that the Baltic market was currently being served by gas reserves stored underground in Latvia.
While the United States banned the import of Russian oil and gas, the European Union – which received around 40 per cent of its gas supplies from Russia in 2021 – has retained deliveries from Moscow.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on the rest of the EU to follow the Baltic example.
“From this month on – no more Russian gas in Lithuania,” he said on Twitter.
“Years ago my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the agressor,” he added. “If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too!”
SWITZERLAND: Meanwhile, thousands of people braved a surprise spring snowstorm in the capital BERN to demand an end to Russia’s devastating war in Ukraine.
In a sea of blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, with a rainbow-coloured sprinkling of PEACE banners, around 10,000 demonstrators marched through the city, according to organisers.
Benoit Gaillard, a representative of the USS union which co-organised the march, said that the fact that “10,000 people braved the cold” showed that “this war has left no one indifferent”.
Just over five weeks into the invasion, thousands have been killed and millions displaced as parts of Ukraine have been reduced to rubble.
The demonstration was aimed at pushing Switzerland to actively engage in efforts to secure a ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Russian forces, organisers said.
The demonstrators were also demanding more support for Ukrainian refugees, and for further sanctions on Russia, including reducing dependence on Russian oil and gas.
“Peace now, No gas, No war,” one large banner read, while a woman held up a sign with a picture of Putin with a red handprint across his face demanding “Stop trade with terrorist”.
Switzerland is not in the EU and has a long-standing tradition of neutrality on matters of war. It has nevertheless been aligning itself with the waves of EU sanctions imposed following Russia’s Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Switzerland said last month it had frozen the equivalent of 5.75 billion Swiss francs in Russian assets since the invasion began. — NNN-AGENCIES