The dispute over Belarusian electricity is between Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia's economic affairs minister said, adding that the Baltic states always dealt with energy trade together.
Lithuania has been lobbying the other Baltic states to join its boycott of electricity from Belarus' would-be Astravyets nuclear power plant. However, Latvia has so far refused to rule out buying Belarusian electricity.
“Estonia does not have any disagreements, we have largely accepted all proposals. Of course, Estonia is in a different situation than Latvia and Lithuania. But where the discussions have gotten to, I think they've improved over time because nuclear safety is important to us as well,” Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas is quoted by Estonia's public broadcaster ERR.
Estonia's Prime Minister Jüri Ratas also previously suggested that “this is mainly a disagreement between Latvia and Lithuania”.
Aas said that a compromise proposed by the European Commission recommended stricter safety measures, but did not rule out buying Belarusian electricity.
“Both Latvia and Lithuania had to discuss the proposal and inform us if there could be an agreement. I hope this argument will end sometime,” Ass said.
Read more: EU to help Baltics resolve dispute over Astravyets NPP, Latvian president says
He added that the Baltic countries always had a common policy for energy trade, and it would be the first time the three countries would fail to find an agreement.
Vilnius has been opposing the construction of the nuclear plant, saying it's being built in breach of internaitonal safety standards and is an influence tool for the Kremlin, according to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
In 2018, Vilnius passed a law banning Belarusian electricity imports once the power plant goes online. However, Lithuania will struggle to keep Belarusian electricity out of its grid unless Latvia and Estonia join the boycott, something they have been reluctant to commit to.
In protest, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda cancelled a planned trip to Estonia last month to attend a summit of Baltic heads of state held annually since 1991.
This week, the Latvian parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rihard Kols reproached Lithuania for pressuring the other Baltic countries on the Astravyets issue.
“Did Lithuanian colleagues from parliament or government consult with Estonian and Latvian colleagues when they approved a law in 2018 that they would stop energy trading with third countries?” Kols is quoted by ERR.
He said Latvia would suffer damages if it were to stop electricity trading with third countries and Lithuania had not proposed any solutions how to compensate for it.
“Complaints made by Lithuania to Latvia, saying that Latvia is in support of the power plant's nuclear reactor, are absurd," according to Kols.
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