Lithuania submits proposals on Kaliningrad transit to European Commission, says PM
Lithuania has extended restrictions on the transit of goods to Kaliningrad through its territory as part of the EU's sanctions against Russia
VILNIUS, July 13. /TASS/. The document stating Lithuania's stance on transit to Russia's Kaliningrad Region through the territory of the Baltic republic has been submitted to the European Commission (EC), which is readying its revised recommendations on the issue, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters on Wednesday.
"We have submitted our ideas on the Kaliningrad transit to the European Commission. Its revision may be announced as early as this week," she said.
The recommendations expected from the EC will be a document of the European Union, which cannot be regarded as a bilateral statement, PM noted. "This will not be a certain agreement between the European Commission and Lithuania to be signed by representatives of the sides," she said.
Lithuania has extended restrictions on the transit of goods to Kaliningrad through its territory as part of the EU's sanctions against Russia. New restrictions have been imposed against alcohol, industrial chemicals based on spirits, wood and concrete after gradual changes in the EU's sanctions announced earlier came into force.
On June 18, Lithuania froze the transit of goods to and from Kaliningrad blacklisted by Europe. Russia's Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin said Vilnius' actions were illegal, contradicting international agreements. Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov said the region offered four options of response measures on Lithuania's cargo transit ban. In their turn, the country's government and the EU's leadership said no unilateral or additional restrictions had been imposed by the republic, it only gradually applied European sanctions.
The EU's restrictions include a ban on export from Russia and transit through the European Union's territory of a wide range of goods, including chemicals, metals, military-technical items, fuel, construction products, commodities and much more. The effective dates of the bans on carrying different goods vary, which the European Commission said was due to the need to grant a delay for businesses to adjust.