Latvian state company Latvijas gāze has started purchasing gas from Russia, as reported by LTV.
The head of he company Aigars Kalvītis admits the company has restarted buying gas. Payments are processed in euros, not Russian roubles, he said.
Over the course of the past month Latvia has pumped approximately 1 TWh of natural gas from Russia. Kalvītis said gas is not procured from Gazprom, rather some new supplier in Russia. He did not mention the name of this company.
«Latvia is purchasing gas now, yes, but not from Gazprom, because there is no way for us to pay Gazprom. We have a different supplier,» said Kalvītis. He did not reveal the name of this suppliers, only saying that «it is commercial information which we do not discuss publicly».
Kalvītis said clients have no reason for concerns about possible gas supply disruptions.
The State Security Service (VDD) has taken notice of information reported by the media about Latvijas gāze once again purchasing gas from Russia, the service confirmed.
VDD monitors and performs inspections of possible breaches of sanctions. «VDD has taken notice of the aforementioned information. However, we refrain from commenting it at this time,» the service reported.
The Public Utilities Commission (SPRK) has told LETA that checking the content of contracts signed by traders – the payment order, advance payments, etc. – and their implementation (whether traders continue doing business in one type of currency or switch to another) is not part of SPRK’s range of duties, because the market is free and all of its members have the freedom to make deals.
Institutions mentioned in the Law on International Sanctions and National Sanctions of the Republic of Latvia – Financial and Capital Market Commission, State Revenue Service, Consumer Rights Protection Centre, Latvian Council of Sworn Advocates, Council of Sworn Notaries of Latvia, Latvian Association of Sworn Auditors, Lotteries and Gambling Supervision Inspection, National Cultural Heritage Board and the Bank of Latvia – are responsible for monitoring compliance with sanctions.
These institutions have the right to impose administrative sanctions and monitoring measures to persons for breach of international and national sanctions.
After the start of Russian-Ukrainian war, the flow of gas from Russia to Latvia promptly shut down multiple times. Since June, however, the flow of gas from Russia has been on a rise.
As previously reported, Latvia is committed to completely ceasing purchasing gas from Russia starting with 1 January 2023. Amendments to the Energy Law passed by the Saeima provide for diversifying gas supply routes and creating strategic reserves of natural gas.
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