Baltic states propose to include grain from Russia in EU sanctions package

After a meeting with his Latvian and Estonian counterparts, Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis said that the Baltic states support the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian grain in the EU sanctions package.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by TV3.lt.

The Baltic states would support the inclusion of grain imports from Russia and Belarus in the EU sanctions package, Skuodis said.

Before that, on Wednesday, he discussed the issue of toughening sanctions against Russia and Belarus with Estonian Climate Minister Kristen Michal and Latvian Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens. It is necessary to coordinate all actions with each other, avoiding individual national initiatives, and to continue exchanging information on the transport sector, both grain and otherwise, the Lithuanian official added.

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Earlier on Wednesday, Skuodis said that little Russian grain is transited through Lithuania, while most of it is transported through Latvia, and this is a big problem.

In December, the head of the Lithuanian Grain Producers Association, Aušrys Macijauskas, said that large volumes of Russian grain were being transported in transit through Latvia, and some of this grain was also being delivered to Lithuania.

At the same time, Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Navickas did not rule out that Russian grain could be imported by forging documents on its origin. According to Navickas, the Latvian government should take action.

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For his part, Latvian Economy Minister Viktors Valainis said last week that all sanctions, including national ones, should have an effect, so if Russian grain imports are banned, it should not just be banned in Latvia, but throughout the European Union. The politician is convinced that the Latvian government, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economy should continue to work together to raise the issue of the embargo on Russian grain at the EU level.

As Ukrinform reported, the day before, the International Working Group on Sanctions Against Russia, headed by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and the director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Ambassador Michael McFaul, developed new research focusing on Russia's attempts to circumvent export control restrictions.