(ANSA-AFP) - VILNIUS, MAY 13 - Three EU Baltic states on
Thursday took a big step toward accessing the bloc's power grid,
a move intended to end energy dependence on Russia dating back
to the Soviet era. Speaking in the port city Klaipeda,
Lithuania's energy minister Dainius Kreivys hailed the arrival
of a massive and key piece of grid infrastructure as a "crucial
step" towards energy security. The 164-tonne autotransformer
will allow power to flow from fellow EU member Poland to the
three Baltic states via the LitPol link. Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania were occupied by the Soviet Union until 1991 and are
still hooked into Russia's power grid, making them vulnerable to
energy cuts by Moscow. Tensions have flared between the three
small states and Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea from
Ukraine and support for Belarusian strongman Aleksander
Lukashenko among other matters. Thanks to European Union
funding, the Baltic states plan to fully synchronise their grids
with the rest of Europe via Poland by 2025. (ANSA-AFP).
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