Sanctions on goods to Kaliningrad take effect on Saturday: Lithuania
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Lithuania will start adhering to EU sanctions on Russia, and the ban on imports will also include the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
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A crane lifts a shipping container at a commercial port in Kaliningrad, Russia, October 28, 2021 (Reuters)
Lithuanian authorities have announced that there has been a ban on the transit through their territory to Kaliningrad, Russia, of goods subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union starting Saturday.
News of the ban came on Friday, with Kaliningrad governor Anton Alikhanov announcing it through a video.
The goods in question include coal, metals, construction materials, and advanced technology, and the governor said the ban would cover around 50% of the region's imports.
The decision is effective immediately as of Saturday, as confirmed by the cargo division of Lithuania's state railways service in a letter to its clients. The letter came after "clarifications" from the European Commission on how the sanctions would be applied.
Governor Alikhanov called on citizens not to resort to panic buying, revealing that there were two vessels carrying goods between Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg, in addition to seven more that would be in service within months.
Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas told state media that the country's top diplomatic body had been awaiting "clarification from the European Commission on applying European sanctions to Kaliningrad cargo transit."
The region is a Russian enclave that falls between EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania, both of whom have staunchly been opposing Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, exporting arms to Kiev and imposing sanctions on Moscow.
Kaliningrad hosts the headquarters of Russia's Baltic sea fleet. The Soviet Union liberated it from Nazi Germany in April 1945, and it was later ceded to the USSR at the conclusion of World War Two.
Kaliningrad to continue receiving oil via Lithuania through August 10
The transit of oil products to the enclave through Lithuania will continue without any obstruction through August 10, Alikhanov assured.
"Oil products are not subject to transit limitations until August 10. There is no need to stock up on gasoline, as the transit of these products continues," he said on Telegram.
