OREANDA-NEWS Lithuania does not interpret the EU sanctions against Russia in any way and is not involved in the blockade of the Kaliningrad region, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said.

"There is no blockade of Kaliningrad. Last weekend, sanctions were imposed on some of the goods included in the so-called sanctions package, in particular, steel and ferrous metals. Railway customers or contract participants are informed about the introduction of these sanctions and that the goods cannot be transshipped and transported", Simonyte told reporters on Tuesday, June 21.

"All other goods, which are not subject to sanctions, as well as passenger transit, for which there is a special agreement between the European Union, Russia and Lithuania, are being transported", the prime minister added.

According to her, the goodwill of Lithuania is evidenced by the not terminated agreement on passenger transportation in a situation where Russia could not pay for it due to international sanctions applied to the country's banks. "During this period, there were situations when due to certain restrictions applied to banks, Russia could not pay for the transportation of passengers, which would formally be a reason for terminating the contract, but the transportation continued, we continued to follow the contract, financial institutions were found, and it was possible to pay off and repay the debt through them", Simonyte said.

The day before, Moscow stated that restrictions on the transit of goods through Lithuania to the Kaliningrad region violate international agreements, and demanded that Vilnius lift the ban on the transit of certain goods. Lithuania responded by saying that it did not impose unilateral restrictions, pointing out that the ban was provided for by EU sanctions.