Lithuania could block Kaliningrad due to Moscow's pressure on its neighbors

KYIV, October 3 /Ukrinform/. Lithuania could block the Kaliningrad region of Russia if Moscow continues pressuring its neighbors because of their European integration policy and if it creates obstacles to Lithuanian suppliers on the Russian border.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said this in an interview with Reuters.

"We could also apply the same measures," he said, when asked about a possible reaction by Lithuania to Russia's pressure on the Eastern Partnership countries and the holding up of Lithuanian trucks on the border with Russia.

"As you know, the Kaliningrad region is isolated, geographically isolated, so we could apply some measures also to cut something," Linkevicius said.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of blocking traffic and the supply of goods to Kaliningrad. "Transport, we could cut off trains, but not only trains, also the supply of goods, whatever. It is theoretically possible," he said.

The minister noted that no discussions along those lines had taken place. "It was not discussed, it's not our way of thinking, it's not our methods," he said.

Linkevicius added that Lithuania is not confronting Russia. "We would just like to see this free competition of ideas and arguments," Linkevicius said.

However, the minister did not rule out the recurrence of the Georgian war of 2008. "It was a precedent. It can happen again," he said, when asked whether the events of the Russian- Georgian war in August 2008 were on the minds of EU member states and others in the Eastern Partnership in the context of recent attempts by Moscow to exert pressure on neighboring states.

ap