VILNIUS - Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish prime ministers have handed a joint letter to the European Commission asking them to finance a natural gas pipeline through the three countries.
The Amber Project would extend the existing Yamal gas pipeline from western Siberia so that it bypassed Belarus and instead cut a trail though the Baltics and Poland. For Russia, the project is attractive since it would provide an alternative to Belarusian and Ukrainian routes, where thievery is commonplace.
The project is particularly urgent for Lithuania and Poland, where gas deliveries must first cross Belarusian territory. In early 2004, when Russia decided to cease supplying gas to Belarus for outstanding debts, Lithuania and Poland were forced to find alternative fuel sources.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas said in a statement that the Amber Project "is very important to Lithuania, which is striving to join the common European energy market and ensure secure energy supplies in the country and across the region."
"We expressed our confidence that the European Commission would appreciate our initiative and help to ensure support from other EU member states and Russia for the implementation of this project," he said, adding that the project would become even more important as the country shuts down its nuclear power plant.
The pipeline would also benefit Germany since it can receive gas supplies regardless of weather or conditions. Russia's Gazprom, which supplies one-fourth of all natural gas consumed in Europe, has announced plans to build a new pipeline from Russia to Germany. Under existing plans, the 3,000-kilometer pipeline will be built in the Baltic Sea. Baltic and Polish leaders hope their proposal will find more support in Brussels.
