Lithuania implements EU sanctions on goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad: EU Commission

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - Lithuania is obliged to apply additional checks on traffic to the Russian semi-exclave Kaliningrad when implementing EU sanctions, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Lithuania “has to apply additional checks on roads and rail transit through EU territory,” Eric Mamer, the European Commission’s chief spokesperson said on Twitter, clarifying the EU’s position on transit checks to Kaliningrad.

This came after Russia accused Lithuania of applying “unilateral anti-Russian restrictions on cargo transit between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of the Russian Federation” and barring transit of goods destined to the Russian semi-exclave.

Mamer pointed out that the checks should be “focused, proportionate and effective,” but stressed that Lithuania is only implementing the EU sanctions imposed “in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”

He also explained that the country started the controls now because the restrictive measures banning the Russian export of certain goods, including steel products and construction material, have become effective after a short transition time following the adoption.

He also stressed that Lithuania does not implement a “blockade” and “the supply to Kaliningrad of essential goods remains unhindered.”

Located on the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad is separated overland from the main part of Russia by Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus.

Most railway transit between Russia and Kaliningrad is through Belarus and Lithuania.

The EU has slapped six sets of sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the country’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The packages target, among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, ban oil and coal imports, and the export of luxury goods, as well as exclude Russian and Belarusian banks from using the SWIFT system.