Efforts to block access to Kaliningrad could provoke a hostile response from Moscow, according to Andrei Klishas, chair of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation.
“An attempt to establish an actual blockade of the Kaliningrad region by Lithuania is a violation of Russia's sovereignty over this region and may be the basis for very tough and absolutely legal actions on the part of Russia,” the senator warned on Telegram on Monday.
According to Pravda.ru, Lithuanian Railways officials notified Kaliningrad authorities that the state-owned company would stop transporting goods subject to European Union sanctions to the Kaliningrad region beginning at midnight on June 18.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the decision was made with input from the European Commission.
“The decision was made after consultations with the European Commission and under its leadership,” Landsbergis said before the start of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU countries, RIA Novosti reports.
Preliminary estimates indicate that up to 50% of the range of goods will be affected, including construction materials and metals.
After the decision, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent for the Lithuanian Charge d'Affaires Virginia Umbrasene and “demanded the restrictions should be lifted immediately,” Pravda reports.
Lenta.ru reports that Andrei Klimov, head of the Russian Federation Council Commission for the Protection of Sovereignty, previously demanded the European Union resolve the situation, threatening that Russia would have a “free hand” to do so otherwise.
According to Sergey Tsekov, a member of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Russia may take “decisive action” if the living standards of the Russian people in the area deteriorate.
“Russia may resort to tough measures should the situation in the Kaliningrad region aggravate to critical due to the blockade — in terms of food, energy supplies, in social terms,” the senator told Lenta.ru. “If Lithuania continues acting the way it is acting now, causing a very difficult situation to develop in the region, Russia may take very tough actions.”
“Let them look at Ukraine and think what other methods we can use,” Tsekov added.
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