Lithuanian Railways announces suspension of Lukoil cargo transit to Kaliningrad

MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai, LTG) is suspending transit deliveries of cargo from Lukoil and affiliated companies in Russia to Kaliningrad from Friday onwards, the company reported.

"Therefore, as of November 21, it [the LTG group] will not carry out any shipments involving Lukoil and related companies sanctioned by the US and UK," LTG said on its website.

It said that the sanctions announced in late October extended to Rosneft and affiliated companies; however, Rosneft had not transported any cargo by rail via Kaliningrad in recent years.

"Compliance with the sanctions recommended by the US and the UK is a consistent step that contributes to business risk control and resilience, and it also reflects the value position of the entire group," LTG CEO Egidijus Lazauskas is quoted as saying in the press release.

It follows from the statement that LTG Cargo, the transportation and forwarding company of the LTG group, informed its clients of a transition period for completing deals on October 31. After this date, no applications by Lukoil or affiliated enterprises to transit goods into the Kaliningrad region have been approved.

LTG said that none of the companies in the LTG group had direct dealings with sanctioned companies.

On October 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added Lukoil and Rosneft to its sanctions list, granting them a license to wind down their operations by November 21. Both companies were added to the UK sanctions list on October 15.