EU may lift blockade of Russian exclave

The EU is in talks with Lithuania about lifting sanctions on the transit of goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing two unnamed Russian officials.

Officials told the news agency that in early July the EU sent Moscow a draft document outlining that transit of goods by both rail and road from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad would be exempted from sanctions . However, the sources said that Vilnius, which had previously blocked shipments of goods to the region through Lithuania’s territory to comply with sanctions, has not yet agreed to finalize the document.

“Lithuania does not want to agree to the EU’s compromise proposal. Vilnius’ position is in many ways determined by the US putting pressure on them. The matter is currently being examined by the Lithuanian side” one of the sources told Izvestia.

Meanwhile, the second source told the news outlet that the extradition for transporting goods to Kaliningrad via Lithuania may be included in the next package of EU sanctions, due to be adopted later this month.

Both officials said that the draft document provided by Brussels “completely satisfied“Moscow.

Lithuania on June 18 blocked the transit of goods by rail bound for Kaliningrad through its territory, with the restrictions affecting about 30% of shipments to the Russian region. Moscow called the measures unprecedented and illegal because they affect Russia’s access to part of its own territory. Germany then asked the European Commission to make an exception for Kaliningrad to avoid an escalation, Der Spiegel reported, citing sources.

Meanwhile, the Kaliningrad authorities have not yet received any official notification about the lifting of transit restrictions through Lithuania to the region, TASS reported on Wednesday, citing the regional government’s press service.