Russia warns Lithuania against illegal ‘siege’ of Kaliningrad
KALININGRAD published a list of goods banned by Lithuania from crossing via the Baltic country to the Russian enclave today, with Moscow insisting that it must lift what it describes as a siege.
Lithuanian railway officials said that they would restrict the transit of a number of goods from Russia due to European sanctions from June 18.
Listed in a 66-page document, items include household appliances worth more than €750 (£645), as well as musical instruments worth more than €1,000 apiece.
The list also contains “vehicles, other than ambulances, for transporting people by land, air or sea worth more than €50,000,” chair-lifts, traction mechanisms for cable railways, motorcycles worth more than €5,000 each, as well as their accessories and spare parts.
A number of luxury items are also included on the list. Kaliningrad region governor Anton Alikhanov said the move is illegal and a breach of agreements made when Lithuania joined the European Union that preserved the transit of goods there.
Russia said the ban is a provocative and openly hostile measure and warned Vilnius that it is considering its next steps.
“This is an unprecedented decision that violates each and every [law],” Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said. “This is certainly a siege of sorts.”
