Lithuania categorically refused to modify its plan to block transit to the Kaliningrad region. Russia considered Lithuania's move aggressive and unfriendly. Experts discussed what is happening in the relations between Russia, Lithuania and the EU at a roundtable on June 28.
Diplomat Andrey Baklanov said Lithuania is a small but often dangerous competitor for Russia, with its most developed ties to foreign intelligence services. He thinks all of this should be taken very seriously and sees the collective work behind NATO .
Vadimir Matyagin, chairman of the Russian National Road Freight Association "Gruzavtotrans", said that there are many ways to transport goods to the Kaliningrad region. Another option is sea ferry transportation which has been established for many years. But these require additional costs, such as increased freight costs and increased product costs for local residents. So the question is what kind of compensation the Russian Federation will give so that the enclave does not suffer from security aspects. "
Andrei Romanov, Chairman of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the Kaliningrad Region, believes that it is important now to analyze the decisions of Lithuania and the EU to understand which goods can be transported by land and which can be transported by sea to avoid unnecessary In his opinion, retaliatory measures could be a complete ban on the import of Lithuanian goods, a shutdown of the electricity supply system and a total blockade of the sea. "It should be the same blockade for them." We also have an electronic warfare system that completely covers the sky for them. If they twist our arms, we should give them a warning, " he said.
Regarding the prospects for Lithuania itself, the predictions given by experts are not the most comforting. A PhD in economics and a professor at the Department of European Studies Ni Gula: Merevic believes that Lithuania's decision to block Kaliningrad will deal a heavy blow to the country's economy. He believes that the Baltic country's GDP will drop by at least 8-12% by the end of 2022. Gula: We know that all Lithuanian enterprises involved in exporting goods to Russia and Belarus are intermediary companies. We are still Lithuania’s fourth partner in the import and export business. In addition, tourism. Played an important role. He said that all this will pass, military response should be categorically rejected, we are outraged, economic cooperation should be completely abandoned, and cooperation with Lithuania should not exist even for a pack of cigarettes or a cigarette from Lithuania. Logs or bags of cement should not be allowed to reach the EU either, any trade with Lithuania is treasonous
.
