The stop imposed by Lithuania on some goods transported through its territory from Russia to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, or vice versa, is an effect of the «EU sanctions that have been in force since June 17. It is not Lithuania: it is the Lithuanian railways that inform customers that goods subject to sanctions, such as steel and other goods containing iron ore, cannot transit through Lithuania. ” This was stated by the Foreign Minister of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis, on the sidelines of the Council in Luxembourg.
“It is a measure – underlines Landsbergis – taken in consultation with the European Commission and on the basis of the Commission’s guidelines. False information has been released, and it is not the first time, from the Russian authorities, but I am happy to be able to explain this. At this point, just under half of the goods crossing Lithuania are on the EU sanctions list. This does not mean that all are sanctioned now: for some there are transitional periods. For example, oil will start at the end of the year, in December, ”he concludes.
Russia reserves the right to act in defense of its interests, in the event that Lithuania does not lift the block on the transit of goods between Kaliningrad and the rest of the Federation. This is what we read in a note from the Moscow Foreign Ministry, in which an account is taken of the convening of the Lithuanian Chargé d’Affaires Virginia Umbrasene, to whom “the strong protest in connection with a ban imposed by Vilnius without a previous notification to Russia on the rail transit of a wide range of goods to the Kaliningrad region through the territory of Lithuania ‘.
“The immediate cancellation of these restrictions has been requested”, reads the note, which warns that “until the commercial transit between the Kalinigrad region and the rest of Russian territory through Lithuania is fully resumed, Russia reserves the right to the right to act in defense of national interests “.