The European Commission blinked yesterday regarding sanctions affecting the Russian transit of goods through Lithuania to Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad. In what appears to be a back-down from a frontal confrontation with Russia over the exclave, the EC issued “advice,” ruling that “the transit of sanctioned goods by road with Russian operators is not allowed under the EU measures. No such similar prohibition exists for rail transport.”
State Department Spokesman Ned Price also endorsed the decision in equally contorted fashion; he praised “the unprecedented economic measures that our Allies and partners, including Lithuania, have joined us in taking against Russia for its unprovoked war against Ukraine.”
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, while saying Vilnius would comply with the new guidelines, left no doubt as to its official view that the tighter restrictions were its preference. It worried that “the publication of the new ... guidelines may give the unjustified impression that the transatlantic community is softening its position and sanctions policy toward Russia.”
