KALININGRAD, July 4. /TASS/. Russia has temporarily suspended local border traffic regime between the Kaliningrad Region and Poland, Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative in the Kaliningrad Region Pavel Mamontov told TASS on Monday.
"The regime has been suspended today at 12am," Mamontov said adding that citizens of Poland have lost their right to enter the Russian region by local movement permits. The date of resuming local movement across the border is not yet known, he noted.
Poland earlier announced its decision to suspend the regime of local movement across the border with Russia and Ukraine. This was done in line with stepping up security measures ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw on July 8-9 and International Youth Days in Krakow on July 26-31. The corresponding note was received by the Russian Embassy in Warsaw on June 30.
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Regional minister for international and inter-regional relations Alla Ivanova told TASS that "this decision was unexpected" for local authorities.
"We hope that this will be a temporary measure, and the implementation of the fifth article of the Agreement (on movement across the border) will be restored in the way it worked before," Ivanova said.
Russia and Poland signed a local border traffic agreement in 2012.