Kaliningrad: Russia's Weak Spot in Talks with Lithuania

Russia is using Gazprom to try to counter Lithuania's leverage against Russia in energy negotiations and political maneuvers. Currently, all natural gas that the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad uses comes from Russia proper but transits Lithuania — a situation that Lithuania has used as a key bargaining point in negotiations with Moscow over natural gas prices. However, on Sept. 23, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Kaliningrad Gov. Nikolai Tsukanov signed an agreement of understanding and cooperation regarding the construction of a liquefied natural gas import terminal in Kaliningrad. This is meant to challenge Lithuania's position, but whether Russia will follow through with the construction of the terminal remains uncertain.