Moscow demands that Vilnius lift its ban on the rail transit of goods to the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, otherwise reserving the right to take retaliatory action, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
“We pointed out in this regard that if the transit of goods between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of Russia through Lithuania is not fully restored, Russia reserves the right to take action to protect its national interests,” the ministry said in a statement after summoning Lithuania’s Charge d Affaires Virginija Umbrasene.
The ministry emphasized that Russia had strongly protested against Lithuania’s decision. “We demanded that the restrictions be lifted immediately,” the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry noted that Russia viewed the move as openly hostile, adding that it violated Lithuania’s international legal obligations, namely the 2002 Joint Statement of the EU and the Russian Federation on Transit between the Kaliningrad Region and the rest of the Russian Federation.