Latvia should refuse to buy Russian natural gas while Russia is actively fighting on the territory of Ukraine. This is the request Saeima Public Expenditure and Audit Committee will send to the Cabinet of Ministers to decide upon. Its chairman, Reinis Znotiņš, hopes that a decision will be taken within this month.
Opening the committee's meeting, Znotiņš, representing the Conservatives (Konservatīvie) party, reminded that Latvia pays €400 million a year to Russia for natural gas. "At the moment, it is an absolutely unacceptable situation, when there is a war in Ukraine, we send 400 million to Russia every year so that it can run its war machine (..) Just one comparison: the Latvian defense budget is about 700 million, we send more than half of what we invest in the armed forces to Russia every year in gas alone (..) not a single cent should be used to finance Russia's war," said Znotiņš, calling for a solution to this problem.
To this end, the committee's letter will call on the government to "make it politically clear" that no Russian gas will be bought while the conflict in Ukraine is in its active phase. Znotiņš hopes that the Conservatives' partners in the coalition will also see it as impossible to continue financing Russian aggression. "It's all about the willingness to position ourselves," said the committee chairman.
The Ministry of Economy is not enthusiastic about this solution. Its Parliamentary Secretary Ilze Indriksone, representing the National Alliance (Nacionālā apvienība), pointed out that Latvenergo's needs can be met with gas not produced in Russia, but 90% of households not connected to the central heating network use energy purchased from Latvijas Gāze for heating. Therefore, if Latvia completely refuses Russian gas, it would mean a more expensive life for all citizens.
Znotiņš, however, believes that the war in Ukraine also imposes a moral obligation on the people of Latvia not to finance the Russian military.
"Even if it makes life more expensive, it is immoral to finance Russia at the same time. Clearly, this sacrifice will have to be made,"
the politician said.
But there is a solution to the objective defined by Znotiņš, which does not involve an official withdrawal from Russian gas. Indriksone reminds that the Latvian gas market is already open, gas sellers could just be obliged to declare the country of origin of their gas, and then the citizens themselves could choose from whom to buy their energy. In her view, the decision to refuse Russian gas should be taken by Europe as a whole. "If we extend sanctions in this direction, then everyone should do it, then it will have an effect, we will join the majority," said the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Economy.
One of the players on the free gas market could be Latvenergo, which has already bought liquefied natural gas (two shiploads) under a government order, which will soon replenish stocks at the Inčukalns underground gas storage facility. If Latvenergo were to purchase another vessel, all the country's needs would be covered for a sufficient time to take care of the next cargo without interrupting essential services.
Therefore, the Ministry of Economy allows for the possibility that at a critical moment Latvenergo could take the place of Latvijas Gāze in providing households with natural gas. Indriksone points out that recent events have turned the focus to short-term solutions and security, and the MoE is currently working on this.
"We are thinking about buying another ship with gas to ensure that in a critical situation Latvenergo could perhaps take the place of Latvijas Gāze as a supplier of gas to households. Then we could solve the problem easily, but certainly not cheaply," said Indriksone.
At the same time, she stresses that there is no risk of Russia cutting off gas supplies for the time being. "They [Russia] are currently financing their war with gas supplies, which is practically wrong," she said, adding that Latvia is not the only country that buys Russian gas, for example, Finland has no other options at all.