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Wednesday, 24.04.2024, 04:43
Poland's EnMin: Russian influence in Lithuania, Poland still extensive
He also assured that Orlen Lietuva
operated at a profit and expected profits this year.
Tchorzewski stated he was astonished that the politicians who listed
themselves as patriots of Poland had failed to take into consideration the
country's interests, dismissing the conversation about teaching Lithuanians a
lesson by selling Orlen Lietuva to
Russia's Rosneft as betrayal of
Poland's interests.
"Jokes and bullying that are using in the discussing of the most
important and strategic interest of Poland equal to betrayal of the
nation," the energy minister said in comment to the Polish television TVP, which had published recordings of
Sikorski's secret conversation with Orlen
then CEO Jacek Krawiec.
In Tchorzewski's words, it now turned out that the oil refinery in
Mazeikiai, northern Lithuania, was capable of working well.
"Apparently, somebody aimed to show that the plan to retain
sovereignty, which was defended by president Lech Kaczynski, is unfair and
loss-making," said the Polish minister.
"This demonstrates that the Russian influence in Poland and Lithuania
is still big," he added.
In Tchorzewski's words, Orlen Lietuva
last year netted a profit of 900 million zlotys and should post a profit for
2017, as well.
According to portal wnp.pl, the Polish minister said Poland was moving in
the direction of synchronization of the Baltic electricity networks to help
Lithuania separate from the Russian BRELL electricity ring.
Sources close to Lithuania's earlier government say Poland had been
blocking or procrastinating energy projects important to Lithuania up until
this year, first of all synchronization, demanding more favorable freight
transportation by rail tariffs for Orlen
Lietuva.
The 2014 tariff dispute was settled at the end of June 2017 after Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian
Railways, LG) and Orlen Lietuva
finally reached compromise and signed a deal.
Since the purchase of the Mazeikiai utility by Poland's Orlen in 2006, the Polish concern had
been pressing the Lithuanian government to sell some of the shares in Klaipedos
Nafta (Klaipeda Oil) to enable Orlen
Lietuva to build a much-needed pipeline from Mazeikiai to the Klaipeda
port. After the government's refusal, Orlen
later gave up the idea.
The leaked recordings of conversations between Poland's former foreign
minister Radoslaw Sikorski and then CEO of oil company Orlen, Jacek Krawiec, about investments in Mazeikiai oil refinery
in Lithuania do not reflect the position of the current Polish government,
Warsaw said on Wednesday, also informs LETA/BNS.
"The published recordings of the conversations between the former head
of the Foreign Ministry, Radoslaw Sikorski, and former chairman of PKN Orlen, Jacek Krawiec, do not reflect the
position of the current Polish administration towards Lithuania,"
Krzysztof Szczerski, secretary of state at the Polish President's Office, said
in a comment published by the Polish Embassy in Vilnius.
The official of the Polish President's Office also said he would come to
Vilnius at the end of August.
"I will attend the anniversary of the signing of the
Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in Vilnius as a representative of the Polish
President's Office. Political consultations will be held on the occasion at the
Lithuanian President's Office," Szczerski said.
Poland's tvp.info news portal Monday published a fragment of a
secret recording of a conversation between Poland's former foreign minister,
Sikorski, and Orlen CEO Jacek
Krawiec, which showed that Poland was seriously considering selling the
Mazeikiai oil refinery in Lithuania, and in later discussions of possible
closure Sikorski urged Krawiec "to teach Lithuanians a lesson."
"I want to teach Lithuanians a lesson, so that they don't think that
s***ting on Poland won't cost anything," Sikorski said. The ex-minister
shared the quote on his Twitter feed.
The date of the conversation is not specified, however, earlier reports
suggest that Sikorski's conversations were secretly recorded during private
meetings in Warsaw restaurants in 2013 and 2014.