Two Liberal politicians urge government to reject EC’s additional guidance on Kaliningrad transit

Reacting to the European Commission’s additional guidance on transit, which enables Russia to transport some sanctioned goods to and from its Kaliningrad exclave via Lithuania, members of the Liberal Movement MEP Petras Auštrevičius and MP Raimundas Lopata issued a statement calling on the Government and the president not to make any concessions to Russia as regards transit of sanctioned goods.

“We do not agree with any so-called clarifications of the European Commission, which remove, interpret, create exceptions, quotas for Russian goods sanctioned by the decision of the European Union in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, regardless of whether they are transported in transit or otherwise. We believe the competence to lift or impose sanctions lies with the European Council,” MP Lopata wrote in a Facebook post.

The politicians call on President Gitanas Nausėda to turn down proposals that would de facto allow transit of sanctioned goods via Lithuania regardless of what transit volume mechanism is created.

“As long as Ukrainian ports are blocked, as long as Ukraine is being destroyed and its people killed, concessions to aggressor Russia must not be made,” the politicians say.