“Otherwise – a dangerous dead end”
The upcoming seventh package of sanctions is expected to specifically indicate the inadmissibility of the restriction of supplies from Russia to Kaliningrad. aforementioned In the Izvestia article. Now Brussels will have to persuade Lithuania to unblock Russian supplies.
The article also states that the European Union submitted a draft document to Russia in early July envisioning the lifting of Lithuanian sanctions on Kaliningrad.
“This document says that it is impossible to restrict the movement of goods between the subjects of the Russian Federation, that is, all goods going to the region will be removed as an exception to the sanctions lists. We are talking about both rail and road transport,” he said.
He explained that the coordination of all the details of the final document between Brussels and Vilnius continued for “a few weeks”. At the same time, Lithuania rejects the compromise offered to it in the EU. The Izvestia source believes this is due to US pressure on the Baltic country.
Grigory Karasin, head of the International Relations Committee of the Federation Council, told the publication that Moscow is counting on the speedy resolution of the dispute regarding Russia’s outer zone.
“We are optimistic, we must trust that common sense will prevail among our European partners and that the Lithuanian leaders will be able to cope with the unbridled desire to show “courage and resilience”. I hope that common sense prevails and the normal civilized practice that existed before will return. Otherwise, the whole situation will come to a stalemate. , they will lead to a very dangerous stalemate, said the senator.
The second source of Izvestia said that the inadmissibility of the Kaliningrad blockade could be spelled out as a separate item in the upcoming seventh package of sanctions. It is expected to be received in July. According to the addressee of the publication, this approach will facilitate “agreement on the vote exception”.
Siege of Kaliningrad
The Kaliningrad region is a Russian outer region, it is separated from the main part of the country and borders Poland and Lithuania. Most of the goods sent to the region are supplied by Russia through the territory of the Baltic country.
On June 18, it became known that Lithuania stopped allowing goods subject to sanctions from Russia to Kaliningrad. It turned out that on the 21st, not only rail transport, but also freight traffic fell under restrictions.
As Spiegel learned, despite protests from Moscow and Berlin, Lithuania flatly refused to lift restrictions, fearing an escalation and a harsh reaction from Russia. Vilnius officials said they did not impose unilateral sanctions, only “continually apply EU sanctions”.
Also, since 11 July, under the sanctions package adopted in March, Lithuania has expanded the list of goods prohibited in transit, Reuters reported. The restrictions have affected the supply of concrete, wood, alcohol and alcohol-based industrial chemicals to the region.
The governor of the Kaliningrad region, Anton Alikhanov, proposed on his Telegram channel “in response” to completely ban the movement of goods (including goods in transit from third countries) between the three Baltic republics and Russia.
“This will make it possible to load on maritime transport and give jobs to the ports of Kaliningrad, which are very affected by the restrictions from the EU. At the same time, according to the 10-01 price list, the sea tariff level should be determined for transportation at the railway tariff level.”
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Soloviev Live on the eve of the expansion of goods prohibited from transit to Kaliningrad on July 10, that “the clock is ticking” and that Russia’s patience is “not limitless”. According to him, Moscow’s response “will be worthwhile” if Vilnius does not lift restrictions.
According to Lithuanian Railways, sanctioned goods account for 15% of all cargo transported by rail from Russia to the Kaliningrad region.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.