Reuters: Baltic states use Ukraine crisis to boost LNG import capacities
Spurred by the Ukraine crisis, the Baltic region is fast-tracking plans to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, hoping to drastically cut Moscow's grip on the region's supply.
Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region has chilled political relations between Russia and the European Union, prompting governments across the bloc to look at ways to cut its reliance on Russian supplies, which meet around a third of the bloc's gas demand.
Europe had in any case been looking to diversify gas supplies after Russia's state-controlled Gazprom halted deliveries to Ukraine during price disputes in the winters of 2008-2009 and 2005-2006, disrupting supplies of Russian gas that is piped to Europe via Ukraine.