Russia has warned Lithuania of “serious” consequences after it imposed a ban on sanctioned goods’ transit to Kaliningrad.
“Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions,” Nikolai Patrushev, a secretary of Russia’s Security Council, was quoted as saying by the state news agency RIA on Tuesday.
“Appropriate measures are being worked out in an interdepartmental format and will be taken in the near future. Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania,” he added.
Lithuanian stresses that the transit ban is part of the EU’s fourth sanctions package on Russia, which entered into force last weekend. It currently involves steel and other metal products and is due to expand to include cement and alcohol on July 10, coal and other solid fuels on August 10, as well as oil on December 5.
Read more: EU says Lithuania acted ‘by the book’ in Kaliningrad transit standoff with Russia
During his visit to Kaliningrad on Tuesday, Patrushev said that the blockade by Lithuania was instigated by the West “in violation of international law”.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said it was ironic that such accusations came from Russia.
“I don’t know if there’s any international treaty that it [Russia] hasn’t violated,” she said.
Read more: Lithuania faces off with Russia over Kaliningrad. What's happening?
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