Lithuanian president calls on Baltics to commit to earlier synchronization

VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has called on the Baltic states to make a political commitment to bring forward their planned synchronization of their national grids with the power networks of western Europe.

"We must take all steps to speed up synchronization. The Baltics must be determined in cutting the last ties with Russia and eliminate chances to blackmail us," he told reporters in Riga. "The time has come for a joint political decision to set 2024 as a target date for energy freedom."

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are still part of the post-Soviet IPS/UPS system, known as the BRELL ring, which also includes Russia and Belarus.

The Baltic countries set late 2025 as the target date of connecting their grids to the continental European system, but Lithuania is seeking to speed up the process.

"It is technically viable," Nauseda said.

For their part, the Latvian and Estonian leader said there were no political objections to an earlier disconnection, adding, however, that the technical aspects of this process would have impact on it.

"We have an absolute political agreement that we should do it as soon as possible and we will check technical possibilities to desynchronize our energy grids from Russia. It's only a technical question, not a political one," Latvian President Egils Levits said.

His Estonian counterpart Alar Karis echoed the position, saying there are no political obstacles to desynchronization.

"There are some technical issues, and our analysts are doing an analysis. If there's the possibility to do it earlier, we will do it. But if Russia does it unilaterally, we are ready as well. We will survive," the Estonian leader said.