MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – In the dispute over the restriction of Russian transit traffic to the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, Moscow is hoping for a “rational solution”. Russia has explained to the European Union that the current situation is not only leading to significant costs for Lithuania but also for the EU, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Friday, according to the Interfax agency. He has the impression that “the signal has arrived”.
Russia’s ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, made a similar statement. He hopes for “a compromise solution in the near future,” he said.
In mid-June, Lithuania banned the rail transit of some goods through its territory to the area around Kaliningrad – formerly Koenigsberg – that are on Western sanctions lists. Moscow called the restrictions “illegal” and threatened countermeasures.
Grushko said Russia is working on that. “But the most important thing for us are the life support issues of the Kaliningrad oblasts.” The Deputy Foreign Minister also stressed that Russia has no plans to attack a NATO country. “Only sick people could think about that”./wo/DP/stw