Lithuania has extended restrictions on the transit of sanctioned goods through its territory to Russiaʼs Kaliningrad oblast. The transit ban now applies not only to railways but also to highways.
This was reported by Delfi with reference to the representative of the Lithuanian carriers.
Lithuanian customs officers do not allow trucks with prohibited goods, which is why queues are formed at checkpoints.
The President of the Lithuanian Association of Carriers Linava Romas Austinskas explained that the ban on transit applies to certain goods, so it does not matter how they are transported. And trucks do not pass, even if they carry only part of the sanctioned goods.
Austinskas added that tensions over the transit ban had been provoked by shortcomings in EU-Lithuania communication. In his opinion, if Brussels had reminded about sanctions in advance, there would have been no such tension.
- On June 18, Lithuanian authorities imposed a ban on rail transit of sanctioned goods through its territory to Russiaʼs Kaliningrad oblast. The ban affected coal, metals, cement, wood, building materials and high-tech products. According to the governor of the Kaliningrad oblast Anton Alikhanov, 40-50% of all cargoes were banned.
- The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said that the restrictions were imposed after consultation with and under the leadership of the European Commission.
- In response, Russia began threatening Lithuania, and military exercises began in Kaliningrad oblast. Russian Security Council Secretary Patrushev said that the Kremlin would soon respond to the "blockade" of the oblast, and the people of Lithuania "will seriously feel the consequences of these measures."