KALININGRAD, July 14. /TASS/. The Kaliningrad region is counting on the resumption of full-fledged deliveries of goods by rail through Lithuania in the coming days, the region’s governor Anton Alikhanov said in an interview with Russia 1 TV channel.
He added that the region plans to develop the infrastructure of ferry transportation as well.
"I think that literally today or tomorrow the first deliveries [by rail] will start. I would like to note that the trains kept on coming but with other cargoes. We just changed the nomenclature, redistributed it between the railroad and ferries," Alikhanov said.
The governor also touched upon plans for the development of ferry transportation.
"If we started this year with just two ships that served the Baltiysk-Ust-Luga ferry line, now there are already six vessels. So, we have tripled the volume of carrying capacity, and I am sure that the development of this sea bridge will continue," he said.
"It has been in great demand lately, regardless of the decisions taken by Lithuania or the European Union," Alikhanov added.
He also stressed that the movement of sanctioned goods, in particular cement, by rail is extremely important for the region, since the ban increased their cost.
"We welcome this decision," he said, praising the well-coordinated work of all structures of the Russian government.
On June 18, Lithuania notified the Kaliningrad authorities of a ban on the rail transit of sanctioned goods to the Russian exclave. The prohibition was expanded to truck transit on June 21. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin stated that Lithuania’s actions run counter to international agreements. Both Vilnius and the EU insist Lithuania did not impose any unilateral or additional sanctions, but has been consistently enforcing the EU’s sanctions regime.
According to the guidelines of the European Commission, rail transit of oil and oil products, coal, steel and iron, wood and cement and other non-military goods to Kaliningrad is not prohibited.
After the publication of the guidelines, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reported that Vilnius positively assesses them, and noted that Lithuania will effectively ensure "the application of sanctions and will closely monitor, principally evaluate and effectively control whether Russia is trying to abuse transit opportunities."
The Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia would closely monitor the implementation of EU steps on the transit to Kaliningrad. She also called the decision of the European Commission a manifestation of "realistic approach and common sense", while noting that Russia still has questions about the content of the document.