Latvia has paid a heavy price for its energy dependence on Russia. President Gitanas Nauseda recalled how his country suffered from Moscow's gas blackmail. Therefore, 10 years ago, Vilnius began to take measures to strengthen its energy independence..

He spoke about this during a conference at the Atlantic Council, answering the question of what his country is doing to get rid of the Kremlin's energy pressure..

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“We have built LNG terminals. Now we are more resistant to Russian blackmail, because we can import liquefied gas from other countries, including the United States,” Nauseda explained..

He acknowledged that the problem remains the purchase of Russian oil for refineries.. However, Lithuanian companies are already thinking about alternative sources of this raw material.. Also, the Lithuanian power grid has been connected to the Russian and Belarusian ones since Soviet times..

“We are now trying to synchronize our network with the EU network. It will take some time. But, summing up, I will say that Lithuania is now more resistant to Russian blackmail than any other country in Western Europe,” Nauseda is convinced..

Latvian President Egils Levits said that his country still imports Russian gas. However, thanks to the same LNG terminals, Riga can buy it from other suppliers.

“Of course the price will be higher.

But such is the price of energy independence, on which political independence also depends,” he explained..

In turn, Estonian President Alar Karis said that the situation in his country is similar to that in which other Baltic neighbors are.. The only difference is that Estonia has an oil shelf. And the extraction from it is used for power generation..

“We are also discussing the construction of nuclear power plants. But this is a prospect for at least 20 years,” he explained..