VILNIUS, June 18 (Reuters) – Lithuanian authorities have announced that a ban on transit through their territory to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad of goods subject to EU sanctions will take effect on Saturday.
The news of the ban came on Friday through a video posted by District Governor Anton Alikhanov. Read more
The EU sanctions list includes, in particular, coal, metals, construction materials and modern technologies, and Alikhanov said the ban would cover about 50% of the items Kaliningrad imports.
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Its immediate launch was confirmed by the Lithuanian State Railways’ freight unit in a letter to customers following a “clarification” by the European Commission on the sanctions enforcement mechanism.
A spokesman for the service confirmed the contents of the letter, but declined to comment further. The foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas told public television that the institution was awaiting “clarification from the European Commission on the application of European sanctions to the transit of goods in Kaliningrad”.
Pressed between EU and NATO members, Poland and Lithuania,
Kaliningrad receives deliveries from Russia via rail and gas pipelines through Lithuania.
Home to the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet, the enclave was captured by Nazi Germany from the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II.
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Report by Andrius Sitas in Vilnius; additional reports by Kate Abnett in Brussels; edited by John Stone Street and Christina Fincher
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