The Ministry of Energy of the Baltic States agreed on an accelerated exit from the energy ring with the Russian Federation by the beginning of 25.

MOSCOW, July 25 (Reuters) – The energy ministries of the Baltic states agreed to speed up the synchronization of their power grids with Europe and exit the energy ring with Russia and Belarus, according to a statement from the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy.

The energy ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia agreed in Riga that their countries’ energy systems will be synchronized with continental European networks no later than February 2025. Earlier, this deadline was set for the end of 2025.

Three decades after leaving the former Soviet Union and 19 years after joining the European Union, the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – still depend on Russia for the stability of their energy system.

They are connected to the power grids of Russia and Belarus, which form the so-called energy ring BRELL, which enables the parallel operation of the energy systems of these countries.

In 2018, the Baltic countries agreed with the EU on a plan to exit the energy ring with Russia and Belarus and synchronization with European networks at the end of 2025.

This year, Lithuania proposed to accelerate the closure and exit from the energy ring with Moscow and Minsk as early as in early 2024. However, Estonia objected, proposing a compromise – early 2025.

The signing of an agreement on new conditions between the governments of the Baltic states and system operators is planned for early August, the Lithuanian ministry said.

Power system operators will notify their partners in August 2024 when they leave the energy ring.

“The decision was made taking into account the changed geopolitical security situation in the region,” the ministry said. (Moscow office)