Wed, Dec 26, 2007 page9

• Baltic-Russian ties tempered by oil, history

  • By Aleks Tapinsh / DPA
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  Seventeen years after they pulled themselves out of the clutches of the Soviet empire, the relationship between the three Baltic states and Russia remains complicated.

  The region's energy dependence on Russia, economic interests in the Baltics and the complicated 50-year history of the Soviet occupation will continue to have a significant impact on bilateral relations between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the one hand and Russia on the other.

  Among the three EU countries, Latvia has taken the most pragmatic approach in its relationship with Russia. The last 12 months have seen Latvia move closer to Russia, while Estonia and Lithuania have moved further away.

  This year, Latvia negotiated a border treaty agreement with Russia, making the Latvian-Russian border official for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

  Latvian nationalists have demanded Russia return a 4,300km2 district of Abrene (Pytalovo), seceded to Russia in 1944 at the time when both countries were part of the Soviet Union. The signed and ratified border agreement ends that debate.

  Lithuania has demanded Russia compensate it for 50 years of Soviet occupation, which ended in 1991, while Estonia's relations with Russia have soured after a government decision to relocate a Soviet-era monument in April.

  Of the Baltic Three, Latvia alone opposes the European Commission plan to liberalize the 27-nation bloc energy sector.

  The move -- intended to separate energy transport activities from utility production businesses -- angered the Russian monopoly giant Gazprom, which holds a stake in gas utilities in the three Baltic countries.

  Particular economic interests play an important role in the Latvian relationship with Russia, former Latvian foreign minister Artis Pabriks said.

  This is why Latvia was cautious in its criticism of the Russian parliamentary elections -- largely seen by international observers as unfair and undemocratic -- in which Putin's party won the majority of seats, he said.

  At the same time, Latvian national television postponed showing a documentary called Putin's System by French director Jean-Michel Carre on the eve of the December elections in Russia for fear that Russia would interpret it as "an unfriendly gesture."

  Economically, the Baltics are generally suspicious of Russia's business dominance in their market because they see Russia using its economic power to advance political goals as in the former Soviet state of Ukraine.

  When Estonia decided to relocate the World War II monument and the graves of Soviet soldiers from the capital's center to a military cemetery, it sparked riots among the local Russian-speaking population in Tallinn.

  Although no official boycott of Estonian goods followed the riots, the transit traffic from Russia slowed down considerably in the following months.

  According to the Estonian government, 53 percent of Russian goods that used to go through Estonian ports is now handled by Russian ports.

  Connected to the main Druzhba pipeline, the Mazeikiu refinery in Lithuania and Ventspils oil terminal in Latvia suffered last year, when Russia shut off the branch pipeline. Russia is not likely to resume the pipeline, energy experts say.

  Baltic attempts to thwart energy dependence on Russia have yet to bear any fruit.

  Lithuania plans to construct a new Ignalina nuclear power plant, connect its power grid to the rest of the EU via Poland and spearhead the effort to dip into Black Sea oil, bypassing Russia.

  Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia and Azerbaijan signed an October agreement to construct the Odessa-Brody-Plock-Gdansk pipeline, connecting the countries of the Black Sea with the Baltic Sea region in an effort to curb the region's dependence on Russian sources of energy.

  But Lithuania and Poland still haven't signed an agreement on the construction of a new power bridge connecting the Baltic country with the rest of the EU.

  The Baltic states and Poland have not signed an agreement on building a new Ignalina plant after the existing one is shut down in 2009, setting the region up for a power shortfall.

  Latvia is debating whether its new power plant will be operated on coal or gas.

  Constructing the plant on gas would mean that Russia would control 69 percent of the small nation's energy market, Latvian media said.

  Energy will continue to dominate Russian-Baltic relations in the next year, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially endorsed Dmitry Medvedev, who chairs the board of the Gazprom monopoly, to run in the Russian presidential elections in March.
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