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Kaliningrad transit issue should be settled diplomatically — EU envoy

Markus Ederer had meetings with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, and then with Alexander Grushko

MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. The problem of cargo transit to the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad via Lithuania should be resolved by diplomatic means, the EU ambassador to Russia said on Tuesday.

"I had a 20-minute meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. We exchanged on the situation of transit to Kaliningrad through Lithuania," Markus Ederer told reporters.

"I had the opportunity to make clear Europe’s position of <…> the transit for people along sanctions, this is functioning normally and lastly that Lithuania is not taking unilateral issues, but is implementing the EU sanctions," he said, "I appeal to the Russian side to remain cool-headed, not to escalate, neither in words, nor in deeds and settle this dispute by diplomatic means."

The EU envoy arrived at the Foreign Ministry about one and a half hours ago. He said that he had had meetings with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, and then with Alexander Grushko.

As the Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov said on June 17, Lithuanian railways had notified Kaliningrad that since June 18 they had restricted the transit of a number of goods from Russian regions to the Kaliningrad Region due to European sanctions. The governor noted that Lithuania’s actions are illegal and violate agreements, because when the country joined the EU, it guaranteed the preservation of transit to Kaliningrad.

As Foreign Ministry’s official representative Maria Zakharova pointed out, Lithuania should realize that its decision would entail serious consequences. The diplomat also blamed Lithuania for aggravating global food security issues.

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