PM Kubilius welcomes Gazprom as investor in Lithuanian gas supply!

Lithuania, in unbundling the monopolies in the gas market, will let in Russian gas giant Gazprom to partly participate in the management of the country's gas-main (the large pipeline in which gas is carried for distribution through smaller pipes to consumers).

As Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius puts it, the company is a very important strategic partner and it is interested in gas transit to Kaliningrad region. Kubilius said that Gazprom would be just a financial investor, reports LETA/ELTA.

"Gazprom remains a very important strategic partner and it is absolutely natural that the company is concerned about the so called gas transit to Kaliningrad region. I personally do not see anything wrong in that. Gazprom would be just a financial investor without a final say as Lithuania would the one holding such right, there is nothing to worry about," the PM said to the radio Ziniu Radijas in a telephone interview from Stockholm.

The PM said that such provision of Gazprom being solely a financial investor and not having a casting vote in voting is outlined in Lithuania's letter which was handed in to Gazprom Export's Director General Alexander Medvedev during his visit to Vilnius Tuesday.

Kubilius reiterated that Lithuania must implement the EU Third Energy Package directive by the end of 2014.

During the meeting with Medvedev, Kubilius said that Gazprom could partly take part in the management of Lithuanian gas-main in the future.