RIGA - Russian Ambassador to Latvia Viktor Kalyuzhny was quoted in an interview last week as saying that Russia could cease exports of oil products through Latvian pipelines in the near future due to poor relations between the countries. But the ambassador, speaking to an audience at the Baltic Russian Institute, did say that Russia was eager to fill domestic pipelines first, particularly to the Visotsk port on the Gulf of Finland, though according to reports he said the main reason for the decision, which could go into effect as early as 2006, was the unsatisfactory state of bilateral relations.
Kalyuzhny even predicted that in the distant future Russia might also reduce transit of other cargos 's e.g., coal 's via Latvia in favor of Russian or Estonian ports.
The statement came during what has been widely perceived as a thaw in Latvian-Russian relations, with a sense of goodwill appearing between the presidents of the two countries.
It also occurred after news that Russia next year may halt export deliveries of oil through its northern river route to the St. Petersburg Port, the largest in the Baltic region. The technical state of the Volgo-Balt canals is in need of repair and dredging in order to accomodate larger barges, according to a report in The Moscow Times last week.
Approximately 1.6 million tons of crude is expected to be transported along this river route.
Kalyuzhny offered a carrot along with the stick, saying that Russia viewed favorably Latvia's interest in joining the $5 billion Russian-German gas pipeline that has caused a ruckus in European relations. He said the main benefit of joining the project would be the safety of additional gas supplies that could be ensured by Latvijas Gaze's storage facility.
Assessing bilateral energy cooperation in a wider context, Kalyuzhny spoke skeptically about statements by Latvian politicians that the Baltic state needed to achieve independence from Russia. In his view, by integrating its energy sector in the EU Latvia would still continue to indirectly receive Russian resources.
"Latvia's wish to use the EU as a mediator in its dialogue and cooperation with Russia is incomprehensible and unconstructive, as it would be much more sensible to solve all matters in a direct manner," Kalyuzhny said, adding that the Latvian-Russian dialogue would be more constructive if the Russian-German gas pipeline could be laid through Latvia's territory.
Russia's Gazprom and Germany's E.ON and BASF last year signed an agreement on constructing a gas pipeline connecting the countries directly. The agreement drew sharp criticism from EU and Baltic politicians. Construction of the overland stretch of the pipeline has already begun.
In 2002, Russia began decreasing the amount of crude oil it piped to the port in Ventspils, and the following year it stopped pipe-based deliveries altogether. All crude deliveries made to Ventspils now are via rail.
The Polotsk-Ventspils and Polotsk-Mazeikiai pipelines are managed by the Latvian-Russian joint venture LatRosTrans, which is owned by Ventspils Nafta (66 pct) and Transnefteprodukt, Russia's oil product pipeline operator (34 pct).