Railway cars on the tracks of a marshalling yard in Kaliningrad. File photoMOSCOW, June 21The transit of goods that do not fall under sanctions is functioning normally, there is no talk of a blockade of the Kaliningrad region, said EU Ambassador to Russia Markus Ederer. He was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday in connection with the decision of Lithuania to ban the transit of a number of goods to the Kaliningrad region and spent an hour and a half there. I also talked for 20 minutes with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko. We exchanged views on the situation of transit to the Kaliningrad region through Lithuania. I had the opportunity to clearly indicate the position of the EU that there is no talk of a transit ban, a blockade, that transit is for people and goods, not subject to sanctions, it works fine,» he said. Lithuanian Railways had previously notified the Kaliningrad Railway that transit of a number of goods subject to EU sanctions would be suspended from June 18. The governor of the region, Anton Alikhanov, said that the ferry complex of the Kaliningrad region will cope with new cargoes due to the restriction of transit through Lithuania. The transportation of oil products to the Kaliningrad region through Lithuania continues, their transit is not limited until August 10. said that the EU Ambassador to Russia was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday due to transit restrictions, he will be subject to conditions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Lithuania, having made such a decision, is acting aggressively and has gone beyond unfriendly lines. She added that Vilnius should understand that Moscow's characterization of its actions on transit to Kaliningrad as hostile means that now «it's not time to talk anymore.»
