Estonia Seeks Permanent Ban on Russian Gas Transit Through the Baltics Together With Latvia
Estonian Minister of Energy and Environment Erkki Keldo plans to meet his Latvian counterpart to permanently stop Russian gas transit through the Baltic states. If talks fail, Estonia will consider other options.
Estonia's energy and environment minister, Erkki Keldo of the Reform Party, wants to work with Latvia to end Russian natural gas transit through the Baltic states for good. He told Estonian public broadcaster ERR that he intends to meet his Latvian counterpart as soon as Latvia's new government takes office. If the talks produce no result, Estonia will look at other options.
The valve on the Latvian side
Keldo explained that the valve Estonia can physically control is closed, so no gas can pass through it. The other pipe section and valve, however, lie on the Latvian side, so the matter has to be settled with Latvia and Lithuania. The pipeline runs through southeastern Estonia. This section belongs to the state-owned grid operator Elering and serves transit only; none of its gas can enter Estonia's domestic network.
The minister declined to predict whether Latvia would agree to shut off the supply, but made his own view plain: he said he does not think the current arrangement is right. He noted that the pipeline is run by a Latvian state-owned operator, making it a subject for negotiation with neighbours and allies. In his view, sanctions or other measures should be considered only after talks with Latvia.
Background
Keldo recalled that both countries have pushed for raising the cost of Russia's aggression in Ukraine through sanctions and additional tariffs. Although no Russian gas has flowed through the pipeline for more than two years, he hopes his Latvian counterpart will help ensure it never resumes.
Earlier this week, the newspaper Eesti Ekspress reported that Estonia maintains a gas pipeline in Võru County that Russia could use to supply its exclave, Kaliningrad Oblast. According to the paper, none of the Estonian politicians who have overseen the sector in recent years knew about the arrangement. Kaliningrad uses Russian gas to fuel its power plants, and after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected from the Russian-controlled power grid in February 2025, the exclave became an isolated energy system.
