Russia's conflict with EU country Lithuania is coming to a head: "More than serious" - Putin's TV calls for an attack
Created: 2022-06-21Updated: 2022-06-21 09:20
By: Kathrin Reikowski
A Russian soldier during a military exercise in Kaliningrad.
The enclave becomes a point of contention in the midst of the Ukraine war.
© Mikhail Golenkov/imago
Access to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad is now also subject to sanctions.
People in Russia don't like to see that - drastic demands are being made on state television.
Update from June 20, 7.45 p.m
.: After Russian criticism of restrictions on rail transit between the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, which belongs to Russia, and the Russian heartland, the EU has assured a review of guidelines on sanctions.
As a precaution, the legal aspects of the guidelines on import and export restrictions for certain products will be reviewed again, announced EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday evening after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Freight trains stand at a railway station in Kaliningrad (photo from June 19, 2022) © Vitaly Nevar/imago
Ukraine-News/Kaliningrad: Lithuanian Foreign Minister defends transit stop
Update from June 20, 4:31 p.m
.: Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said at the EU foreign ministers meeting that the sanctions against Russia were not imposed unilaterally by Lithuania.
With regard to Kaliningrad, he referred to EU sanctions against Russia: In agreement with the EU Commission, the transport of goods such as coal, metals and building materials from Russia through Lithuania to the exclave, the former East Prussian Königsberg, has been stopped since Friday, he said in at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Ukraine-News/Kaliningrad: First consequences for Lithuania after stop of cargo transit
Update from June 20, 4:22 p.m
.: The fact that Lithuania is adapting Russia’s access to the Kaliningrad enclave to the sanctions is now having the first consequences for Lithuania: Russia ordered the Lithuanian chargé d’affaires in Moscow because of this, according to the Kremlin, “provocative” and “unprecedented” decision.
Accompanying this, harsh threats were made: If cargo transit is not fully restored quickly, Russia "reserves the right to take action to protect its national interests," said the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also warned that the situation was "more than serious".
An "in-depth analysis" is needed to work out the Russian response.
Ukraine-News: Russia's conflict with EU country Lithuania is coming to a head
First report from June 20, 3:23 p.m
.: Moscow – Putin’s government reacts angrily to Lithuania’s restrictions on access to the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.
The "beginning blockade" of Kaliningrad violates international law, wrote the Deputy Head of the Russian Federation Council, Konstantin Kosatschow, one of Russia's leading foreign politicians, on Sunday night according to
dpa
information on his Telegram channel.
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Kaliningrad is located between Lithuania and Poland.
Since Saturday, Lithuania has banned the rail transit of goods via its territory to Kaliningrad that are on Western sanctions lists in the wake of the Ukraine war.
This step had already been announced last week.
According to the head of the Kaliningrad regional administration, Anton Alikhanov, the restriction affects 40 to 50 percent of all goods in transit, such as building materials and metals.
A Russian soldier during a military exercise in Kaliningrad.
The enclave becomes a point of contention in the midst of the Ukraine war.
© Mikhail Golenkov/imago
Russia upset with Lithuania: "As an EU country, Lithuania violates international legal acts"
"As a member of the EU, Lithuania violates a whole range of legally binding international legal acts within the framework of sanctions (national law), which affect not only the obligations of Lithuania itself, but also those of the EU as a whole," Kosachev wrote.
Lithuania has been a member of the EU since 2004.
The partnership agreement between the EU and Russia stipulates that neither side will disrupt the transit of the other.
In view of growing tensions between Russia and the West, Moscow says it has stationed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in the exclave.
Ukraine-News: Russian talk shows demand Lithuania gain access to Kaliningrad
If things continue like this, the West will probably soon question the freedom of the seas and block sea access to Kaliningrad, he suspected.
For weeks, talk shows on Russian state television have been clamoring for a “corridor” from core Russia to Kaliningrad.
That would mean a Russian attack on the NATO states of Latvia and Lithuania.
The enclave is only about 500 kilometers from Berlin, but more than 1000 kilometers from Moscow and can be reached from Russia through Lithuania and Latvia or Belarus.
(dpa/kat)
