Lithuania's decision to ban the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which goes contrary to a 2002 agreement between the EU and Moscow, "cannot compare" to the conflict in Ukraine as its consequences have no global effect, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.
Last Friday, state-owned Lithuanian Railways stopped transit of goods between Russia and its Baltic Sea territory, citing EU restrictions. Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov said that oil products were not subject to limitations and the transit will continue unhindered through August 10. Earlier on Monday, Andrey Klimov, the chair of the Russian upper house commission for the protection of state sovereignty, said that NATO is using Lithuania to begin the blockade of the Russian region, forcing the country to defend itself in the face of the direct aggression.
"I do not know exactly, but you cannot compare the situation of Kaliningrad with the situation in Ukraine with respect to the war. The rest of the world will not be affected by what is happening in Kaliningrad, but the rest of the world is very much affected by what is happening in Ukraine," Borrell said upon his arrival to the EU Foreign Affair Council, when asked whether Lithuania's blockade of Kaliningrad could exacerbate tensions with Russia.
At the same time, the EU top official stressed the risk of a global food crisis and hunger, especially in Africa, while noting that European sanctions against Russia did not affect the export of food and fertilizers, and therefore could not harm global food security. Moscow, in turn, has insisted that Western sanctions disrupted logistics and created financial barriers for food importers by excluding Russian banks from international payment systems.
In addition, Borrell expressed confidence that efforts of the United Nations to "unblock the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea for grain exports would eventually be crowned with success."
Western leaders and international organizations have repeatedly accused Russia of allegedly blocking Ukraine's sea ports and hindering grain exports to other countries. Moscow has rejected such allegations, saying that it had been Kiev that had created obstacles to grain supplies by setting fire to grain in the Mariupol port and mining the Black Sea.
Earlier in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there were no barriers to the export of grain from Ukraine. Ships carrying wheat will be able to leave the Black Sea without any problems, if Kiev clears ports of mines it deployed to stall Russia's special operation.
