Ukraine war: New guideline from the EU Commission to de-escalate the Kaliningrad crisis
Created: 07/02/2022, 20:08
By: Bettina Menzel
Lithuania recently restricted the transit of sanctioned goods to Kaliningrad.
After Russia's criticism, the European Commission intends to announce a new guideline in the next few days.
Brussels - The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is of greater importance in the Ukraine war than its sheer area would suggest.
The area between Poland and Lithuania is just as big as Schleswig-Holstein.
But on the one hand, the Suwalki corridor near Kaliningrad is considered to be NATO's Achilles' heel.
On the other hand, Lithuania partially stopped the passage of sanctioned goods into the exclave - and thus aroused the anger of Russia.
The EU Commission now wants to defuse the Kaliningrad crisis with a new guideline.
A border crossing between Poland and Lithuania.
The Suwalki Gap lies between Kaliningrad and Belarus and stretches for around 100 kilometers (archive image, June 29).
© IMAGO/Dominika Zarzycka / NurPhoto
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Lithuania has been independent since 1991.
Since that time, Kaliningrad has had no direct land connection to Russia.
The Russian city is therefore dependent on imports through NATO territory.
On June 20, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would no longer allow certain goods to be transported between Russia and Lithuania.
These were goods that were on the EU sanctions list - such as steel products or luxury products.
Other goods or people could cross the country, the Lithuanian side said.
Russia reacted to the restriction with threats, warned of counterattacks and spoke of a "blockade".
After Russia's criticism, the European Union said it would review the restrictions.
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda told the German Press Agency in Vilnius that they were "in close coordination with the European Commission".
This is expected to announce guidelines for the treatment of goods in transit in a few days.
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Apparently, the procedure was not entirely uncontroversial from the European side either.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung
, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen revised
the confrontational attitude, which also legally contradicts an agreement between the EU and Russia.
In a joint declaration from 2002, Brussels and Moscow agreed on the transport of goods and people to the exclave.
The Russian government refers to this when it accuses the EU of breaching the contract because of the restricted movement of goods.
EU Commission is trying to de-escalate the Kaliningrad crisis
The Suwalki Gap - also called the Suwalki Corridor - runs along the border between Lithuania and Poland.
© dpa / Graphic: A. Brühl, Editor: J. Schneider
The new guideline of the EU Commission is intended to explain how exactly the EU sanctions are handled in Lithuania.
According to the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
, freight transport by rail from Russia to Kaliningrad should continue to be allowed.
Even goods that are on the sanctions list should therefore be allowed to continue to be transported by rail without restrictions.
Only "abnormalities" should be able to be checked, the newspaper reports.
According to this, transit is allowed - but Lithuania should and should know which goods are being transported, according to Brussels.
For Lithuania, however, the Kaliningrad crisis is about more than just a train transit.
Since the exclave is in the middle of NATO territory, the situation there is considered dangerous in terms of security policy.
Politico
magazine once described the Suwalki Gap between Poland and Lithuania
as “the most dangerous place in the world”.
The Baltic States fear that the EU's "backtracking" could now be interpreted as a sign of weakness.
Russia has explained to the European Union that the current situation is not only leading to significant costs for Lithuania, but also for the EU, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko commented on the developments, according to the Interfax agency on Friday.
He had the impression that "the signal had arrived".
Russia has no plans to attack a NATO country, the minister added.
"Only sick people could think about that," Gruschko continued.
In any case, the NATO partners take the concerns of Poland and the Baltic states seriously.
At the Madrid summit, the alliance decided to increase its troop presence on the eastern flank.