Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Saturday that it has stopped deliveries to Latvia due to “violations of the terms of gas extraction.”
This week, Aigars Kalvitis, chairman of gas company Latvijas Gaze, told the media that his country continued to buy Russian natural gas even after refusing to comply with Moscow’s ruble payment demand.
“Latvijas Gaze is buying gas now, but we don’t buy gas from Gazprom because we can’t pay Gazprom. We have another supplier,” he said. Kalvitis added that Latvijas Gaze was paying for the gas in euros.
Earlier this month, the Latvian parliament placed a ban on Russian natural gas imports starting January 1, 2023.
The news comes at a time when the EU is looking for ways to phase out Russian gas in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, which was launched in late February.