As of: 07/14/2022 5:49 p.m
The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad can again be supplied with sanctioned goods. Lithuania agreed to implement relevant EU directives and end its blockade.
Lithuania has declared the dispute over transit traffic to the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad over. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said: “It is not reasonable to divert our time and attention to discussing whether a kiloton of steel can be transported by rail from one part of Russia to the Kaliningrad region.”
Further clashes would be “a real victory for the Kremlin,” Simonyte said. Rather, the focus should be on supporting Ukraine, which has been under Russian attack since late February.
Lithuania had stopped transit
The Baltic EU and NATO member Lithuania blocked the transport of sanctioned goods from Russia to Kaliningrad in mid-June. The area around the former Königsberg is spatially separated from the rest of the Russian state and can only be reached by land via the EU states of Poland and Lithuania.
threats from Moscow
The Russian leadership had warned Lithuania and the EU on Friday that it could take “tough measures” if the transit of some goods between Russia and Kaliningrad did not resume “in the next few days”.
The EU Commission then created new guidelines for transit traffic to Kaliningrad. Russia is now allowed to bring civilian goods that are on the sanctions list back through Lithuania by rail without major restrictions. According to the guidelines, this must be done in the quantities that have been customary up to now. When exactly the transit will be resumed is still unclear.