Lithuania is up in arms against a recent gas pipeline agreement between Germany and Russia. The pipeline under the Baltic Sea would disturb stockpiles of Hitler's chemical weapons lying on the bed of the Baltic Sea and would lead to an environmental disaster, warns Lithuanian prime minister Algirdas Brazauskas. Analysts view the development as the beginning of a confrontation between Baltic states and Poland on one side and Russia-Germany energy and political alliance on the other.
"Being members of the Convention on the Protection of the Baltic Sea, we will demand compliance with all requirements...The Baltic Sea is our common heritage, it's not property of one or two countries," said Brazauskas, adding that he would raise the issue at the forthcoming north European summit in Reykjavik. Till now, Russia sent gas to the West through Ukraine's Neftegaz, via Belarus, Poland and Slovakia. But it felt Ukraine, Poland and Belarus took advantage of the situation. Through this attempt to bypass them, it has attacked their interests. The over 1,200 kilometres long pipeline is expected to become functional by 2010.
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