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Lithuanian Foreign Minister admits EU appetite for more sanctions against Russia dried up

Touching upon the issue of transit to Kaliningrad, Gabrielius Landsbergis said that, first of all, Lithuania would like to maintain the original position of Brussels

BERLIN, August 16. /TASS/. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis admitted that the EU's appetite for additional anti-Russian sanctions has dried up. He expressed this point of view in an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcasting company (recognized as a foreign media agent in Russia).

When asked if there are any new sanctions against Russia in the EU’s arsenal, he said:

"I think that the appetite for additional sanctions has dried up. Many European countries are anxious about the coming winter, because it concerns gas and energy prices."

"But I think that everything will be not as bad as expected. I hope we can get back to putting more pressure on Russia when we see that Europe is able to handle the energy situation," Landsbergis added.

Touching upon the issue of transit to Kaliningrad, Landsbergis said that, first of all, Lithuania would like to maintain the original position of Brussels.

"We believe that it was fair. But we believe that Russia also has reasons for delivering goods to Kaliningrad," Landsbergis said.

"You know, this should by no means be a European issue. This is a Russian issue. This is not a European problem. In any case, after much thought, the decision was changed," he said.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister noted that now there is a quota system in which Europe has set limits.

"What amount of essential goods, coal, timber is needed in Kaliningrad and <...> can be moved through the EU territory. In my opinion, this is not perfect, but this is a compromise that we have made, and we can work with this", he concluded.

In June, Lithuanian officials notified the administration of the Kaliningrad region that the country was halting the transit of goods on the EU sanctions list from the Russian Federation's main territory to the region via trucks and rail. These restrictions were deemed illegal by Russian officials. The European Commission stated in July that rail transit of goods to the Kaliningrad region should not be restricted as long as it is controlled during transportation. At the same time, restrictions on goods transit by road were maintained.

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