Lithuania Discussing Updated Rules of Cargo Transit to Kaliningrad

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Lithuania has held a meeting of a commission responsible for establishing updated regulations for transit of goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad based on the recommendations of the European Commission, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Thursday.

"Yesterday [on Wednesday], according to my information, a meeting of the special commission tasked with introducing changes in the [transit] procedure was held. I know they discussed the procedure of how a quantity should be controlled, how to count, what data to collect. I believe that now Lithuanian Railways will have to inform the Russian side about this... and then it will be possible to submit applications," Simonyte told the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT).

She did not specify how soon the changes will take effect for transit to resume.

Lithuania restricted railroad transit of goods from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad in June, citing EU sanctions. On July 13, the Commission published guidelines clarifying that the sanctions imposed on Russia should not apply to rail transit, provided due controls. Simonyte said Vilnius would continue the existing restrictions until new regulations are worked out based on the Commission's guidelines.

On June 18, Lithuanian Railways halted transit of some goods sanctioned by the European Union to Kaliningrad. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned EU Ambassador to Moscow Markus Ederer and demanded that transit be resumed immediately, vowing to apply retaliatory measures otherwise.

The Lithuanian authorities have been denying violation of the transit agreement, saying that the decision was made in compliance with EU sanctions. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that Vilnius would not make any concessions on the issue.