„Today, this interconnector between Poland and Lithuania is a fact. Russia made another attempt at gas blackmail, it is in some sense a response to it,” President Andrzej Duda said at a launch ceremony held on Thursday at the Jauniunai Gas Compressor Station in the Sirvintos district of Lithuania.

Andrzej Duda added that due to such investments, Poland and Lithuania are able to secure alternative supply routes after Russia halted deliveries on April 27.

„This interconnector, which allows gas to be transmitted in both directions... will allow significant diversification of gas supplies not only for our countries, but also for our neighbours and the EU,” he said.

The Poland–Lithuania Gas Connector (GIPL), under construction since 2020, started operating on May 1. The target capacity of the 508–kilometre–long infrastructure will be 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) towards Lithuania and 2 bcm towards Poland, but it will remain limited until the end of September, at 2 bcm towards Lithuania and 1.9 bcm towards Poland. (PAP)