Lithuania accepts European Commission's decision on rail transit to Kaliningrad

VILNIUS. July 13 (Interfax/BNS) - The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has upheld the guidance regulating transit of cargo to and from Russia's Kaliningrad region, which has been updated by the European Commission, pledging to prevent any violation of EU sanctions.

"Lithuania will effectively ensure the application of sanctions by closely monitoring, principally and effectively verifying whether Russia is attempting to abuse its transit possibilities," the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"If such cases are identified or in the interest of national security, Lithuania reserves the right to unilaterally prevent such attempts," it said.

In order to ensure effective enforcement of sanctions, the European Commission is now working on guidance to ensure a unified interpretation of the provisions at the EU level. So far, Lithuania has followed the Commission's guidance on the transit of sanctioned Russian goods from April 2022, which Lithuania said it believes to be the most acceptable."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova earlier described the European Commission's decision to remove certain goods from the scope of EU sanctions for the purposes of Kaliningrad transit as "a demonstration of realism and common sense."

"This decision, which removes restrictions for a certain range of products transported by rail, is a demonstration of realism and common sense," Zakharova said in a commentary published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website on Wednesday.

Transit of some Russian goods to the Kaliningrad region halted earlier after EU sanctions announced over the Ukraine situation became enforceable.

On Wednesday, the European Commission updated its guidance on the transit of sanctioned Russian goods, permitting Russia, though with certain reservations, to transport sanctioned goods by rail to and from the Kaliningrad region via the EU territory.