MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. A number of European diplomats say the rules drafted ambiguously by the European Commission might have restricted the flow of goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
European diplomats say they did not intend to create significant new barriers to the transit of goods between Russia and its Baltic exclave when they approved the sanctions against Russia, the newspaper writes. "Kaliningrad is a politically sensitive issue, so it was a mistake by the European Commission," the FT quoted a European politician as saying.
On June 18, Lithuania blocked the transit of goods specified by the European sanctions to and from Kaliningrad. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin stated that Vilnius’ actions were unlawful and contradicted international agreements. In their turn, the Lithuanian government and the EU leadership noted that the country had not introduced any unilateral or additional restrictions yet was simply consistently implementing the current European sanctions.
On Wednesday, the European Commission published new guidance for EU member states regarding the transit of goods from Russia. Under the guidance, rail transit of a number of goods to Kaliningrad is not prohibited under the EU sanctions, but their transportation must be subject to "targeted, proportionate and effective controls" by the authorities in the EU.