July 7 2022 20:21
Officials said Moscow was preparing for the worst over the Kaliningrad issue and would respond forcefully if Lithuania continued to prevent goods from crossing into the Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced today, Thursday, that talks are underway through various channels with the aim of resolving the issue of the transit of goods through Lithuania, adding, “Of course, we hope for the best, but we are preparing for the worst.”
Lithuania has been blocking all goods subject to EU sanctions from passing through its territory to the Kaliningrad enclave, and among the affected shipments are luxury goods and steel, which together make up the majority of transports.
Passengers are still allowed to travel through Lithuanian territory.
Valentina Matviyenko, the head of the Russian Federation Council, called Lithuania’s actions crazy, and warned that if a solution was not found, Russia would respond forcefully.
Matvienko described Western sanctions against Russia as illegal.
“But imposing sanctions on transit from one part of Russia to another part of it is the most extreme madness, which is not allowed in international relations,” she added.
The presidents of Poland and Lithuania confirmed their countries’ defense readiness in the border area with the Kaliningrad enclave, which lies between the two neighboring countries that are members of the European Union.
Source: db a
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