Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 20, 1990 TAG: 9004200484
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VILNIUS, U.S.S.R. LENGTH: Medium
A British Broadcasting Corp. television report quoted unidentified Lithuanian sources as saying the republic might offer to suspend its declaration of independence for two years.
The BBC-TV "Newsnight" program quoted the sources as saying the offer might be made at informal talks with the Soviet government today. It quoted the sources as saying the offer, if made, would be in return for a definite two-year timetable for independence.
Meanwhile, the republic ordered that the first to lose their energy supplies under the embargo will be Soviet military bases and factories run by Moscow, according to the Parliament's press office.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev started his most drastic attempt to force Lithuania to retreat from its March 11 declaration of independence late Wednesday when a pipeline to Lithuania's only oil refinery was shut off.
Lithuanian Energy Minister Leonas Asmantas ordered immediate gasoline rationing of 30 liters per month for private cars, according to Daina Kalendra of the parliamentary press office. A liter is slightly more than one quart.
"Where we can give up the use of gas, gasoline, any heating or lighting, let us do this, and then we will be able to survive longer and, maybe, we will not be intimidated by these sanctions," government spokesman Ceslovas Jursenas said on Lithuanian radio.
He said that in the areas of fuel and power, Lithuanians would be put on "a starvation diet."
Lithuania, forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, is entirely dependent on Moscow for its oil and gas, which it receives at below-market prices.
Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Vadim Perfiliev told reporters Thursday that Moscow "might have some other restrictions" to impose on Lithuania, but he refused to elaborate.
In Key Largo, Fla., President Bush and visiting French President Francois Mitterrand said they were both "deeply disturbed" by the Kremlin's recent steps regarding Lithuania. Bush told reporters he was "considering appropriate measures to be taken in light of Soviet actions."
Asmantas said the 96 factories in Lithuanian run by Moscow ministries and Soviet military bases would be the first to feel the pinch of short supplies. He said hospitals would be last, Kalendra reported.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Kazimiera Prunskiene was in Norway to see about contracting for expensive Western oil and seeking foreign aid to pay for it.
Officials told a news conference Thursday night other supplies were being cut as well, but refused to tell reporters what they were, Kalendra said.
Lithuania normally produces its own electricity at a nuclear power plant at Ignalina, but it is shut for repairs. Kalendra said the republic has experienced no electricity shortage, and other plants are operating, including a hydroelectric plant.
The Norwegian oil company Statoil said it is willing to sell oil to Lithuania for hard currency. But Prunskiene told reporters Thursday in Norway that Lithuania will need credit to buy it.
Lithuania has virtually no foreign currency. Asmantas said the republic needs about 500,000 tons of oil a month - about $55 million worth at world prices.
Prunskiene acknowledged the Soviet navy could easily blockade Lithuania's harbors, but said that would be "unthinkable."
The Soviet ambassador to Norway, Alexandre Teterine, hinted Thursday that imports might be permitted. He said in response to a question that recent Soviet reforms allow the Baltics to deal with their own economic affairs.
Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said Thursday that Lithuania will survive on its reserves while waiting for Western help.
"We have no other way. We are waiting from the East for direct negotiations and from the West for more . . . support," he said in a television interview with Cable News Network, broadcast from Vilnius.
Landsbergis again urged major Western democracies to come to Lithuania's aid, adding that Lithuania already received expressions and promises of support from Czechoslovakia, Iceland, France, Italy, some Scandinavian countries and its fellow Baltic states, Estonia and Latvia.
by CNB