Russia deprives Lithuania of the last “lever of pressure”

Russia is trying to deprive Lithuania of instruments of pressure, which makes the leadership of the Baltic Republic discouraged. A few days before the New Year it became known that the Nevsky Shipbuilding and Shiprepairing Plant began construction of a ferry for the railway crossing, which would connect the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. He will transport trains. And in the city of Pionersky, Kaliningrad Region, an international cargo and passenger terminal will be built. When both projects are implemented, Lithuania will lose the opportunity to blackmail Russia by blocking transit through its territory.

The European Union offers to deprive Lithuania of a monopoly on the transit of goods from Russia. Previously, the cargo flow to Kaliningrad was served by a Lithuanian state company. But the European Commission decided that this business should be divided among several participants. Lithuania expressly declares that monopoly control over transit is a way of pressure on Russia, and the EU gives Moscow a gift. However, in Brussels, this opinion is not in a hurry to listen.



Another controversial issue between Vilnius and the EU is the movement of Russian citizens to Kaliningrad through Lithuania. At the same time, Russians may not have a Schengen visa, but get permission to travel in a simplified manner. Before Lithuania joined the EU, the parties agreed that they would pay 157 million euros from the EU budget for the transit of Russians. But now the EU is not ready to pay such money to Vilnius, and this amount will be reduced.

The gas issue also cannot be used to put pressure on Moscow. The ship “Marshal Vasilevsky” with the first cargo of liquefied gas arrived in Kaliningrad. By the end of the year, Vilnius will have no tools left to put pressure on Russia, and Russophobia is already expensive for our Baltic neighbor.