Cathedral in Kaliningrad. File photoMOSCOW, June 29Russia and the EU are not currently at war, but the blockade of Kaliningrad could «tip that balance,» expert Emma Ashford told Foreign Policy. She noted that Lithuania and The European Union should stop its actions against the exclave, since cargo transportation to the region belongs to domestic Russian trade. In her opinion, Brussels should have prevented the problem from the very beginning by making an exception for the region in the sanctions package.
"Perhaps <…> Lithuania should not create a special loophole (in anti-Russian sanctions. — Ed.) for Kaliningrad, but someone in Brussels had to do it. This is not trade with the European Union, this is trade within Russia, which is forced to cross European territory", Ashford said.
The specialist stressed that the West must adapt to the existing economic reality.
The US told how Lithuania lured NATO into a trap because of Kaliningrad»Russia and the European Union are not at war. (The situation around Kaliningrad. — Approx. ed.) can violate this balance,» the expert added. Lithuanian Railways had previously notified the Kaliningrad Railway of ending the transit of a number of goods subject to EU sanctions from June 18. The European Union stopped letting trucks registered in Russia into European countries at the beginning of April. However, an exception was made for the transit of goods to the Kaliningrad region. Now the ban announced by Lithuania applies to all freight transit of goods that fell under EU sanctions.