Turning the tap off

  • 2008-07-16
  • From wire reports

LIFELINE: Russia says it can go it alone in providing gas to Europe.

RIGA - Russia is forging ahead with plans to cease all exports of its oil products and coal through the Baltic States' ports.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov declared on July 5 at a session of the Russian government's Maritime Affairs College in St. Petersburg that his country "should end all exports of oil products and coal through the ports of the Baltic countries by 2015."

Transport Minister Igor Levitin said port facilities in the northwestern part of Russia would be capable of handling their oil products by that time. "We will have all the necessary reloading facilities by 2015," he added.
Latvia's Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis during the show '900 seconds' on channel LNT, said: "Russia has said it wishes to join the World Trade Organization, it now seems to have forgotten this goal. These two things do not go together, it is some kind of discrimination - sending to one port and not sending to others, and then applying different tariffs."

"I believe that these statements do not have much connection with real life," Godmanis said and added that Latvia is looking for "practical relations. We are for having market relations, which was underscored by the Russian government representatives at the meeting between the Baltic Sea countries here. We are for strengthening the contractual base and we are for Russian ascension to the WTO; this would simplify things."
On the Russian television channel Rosija, Ivanov said "We have… a task of fully discontinuing… exports through the Baltic States and increase the capacity of doing it through our own ports, to receive equipment, food and other cargos."

Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin in support said "at present 80 percent of the cargos going through the ports of the Baltic states are oil products. In 2015 we will have enough of our own capacities to reload these products."