Kaliningrad has always complicated Lithuanian-Russian relations, diplomats say. Even 30 years ago, Russia tried to negotiate special conditions for access to its exclave.
Russia has been concerned about the geopolitical situation surrounding Kaliningrad since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, says Antanas Valionis, former foreign minister and diplomat, who took part in negotiation on passenger transit with Russia when Lithuania joined the EU.
At the time, Valionis was ambassador to Poland. According to him, Russia then considered diversifying transit to Kaliningrad, making sure that it passes not only through Lithuania, whose railway tracks are similar to those of Russia, but also Poland.
“For the construction of Russian-standard railway tracks [...], an electricity line, and gas pipeline through Poland, they [Russia] promised cheap gas for Suwalki County,” Valionis told LRT.lt.
Lithuania found out about Russia’s plans and invited the Polish Prime Minister Valdemar Pavlak. The meeting between him and the then Prime Minister Adolfas Šleževičius took place in an informal atmosphere – in a hunting lodge near Elektrėnai.
“They told us everything about those negotiations, that Poland was not going to get involved because they were already thinking about the future, like us, about negotiations to join NATO and the EU. We all realised that this could be a problem,” Valionis said.
Russian diplomacy regarding the Kaliningrad transit could even be seen as an attack on Lithuania’s sovereignty, according to Albinas Januška, a long-time diplomat and former adviser to President Valdas Adamkus.
“Ever since recognising [Lithuania’s independence], Russia has been trying to make Lithuania an appendix of Russia, a territory between two parts of Russia – Kaliningrad and mainland Russia – and its aim has always been to create conditions for transit,” he said.
Various proposals
Kaliningrad has been a headache for Lithuanian diplomacy since EU accession in 2004. Before joining the block, Lithuania received various offers from Russia on transit conditions.
“An EU-Russia agreement was signed, regulating the transport of people, but with full Lithuanian control. Russia’s aim was for Lithuania to become a corridor country with no sovereignty rights over its own territory,” Januška said.
According to him, Russia put forward various ideas for how its citizens could travel through the territory of Lithuania, the future Schengen area.
“They themselves did not know how to react. There was a proposal for sealed carriages for passengers, with our military on board. There was also the idea of high-speed trains that wouldn’t stop [in Lithuania], and similar proposals. They seemed to us like an extraterritorial corridor,” Valionis said.
Facilitated transit
In 2002, a declaration was issued noting that after Lithuania’s EU accession, passengers and goods would be able to move between Russia and Kaliningrad.
In the same year, Lithuania’s EU accession negotiations were finalised, but not for Kaliningrad. According to Valionis, Lithuania conducted negotiations on passenger transit on its own.
Lithuania then said that Russians would only be able to travel through the country with valid foreign passports (residents of the Russian Federation have two passports, one of which allows them to travel abroad). In the end, a system for facilitated transit documents was fleshed out.
“The system is very simple, but also very complex. It is simple for passengers, and the costs are borne by Lithuania and the EU, which is responsible for everything,” Valionis said.
“When buying a ticket at the ticket office, whether in Kaliningrad, Moscow, Vladivostok, or Murmansk, people leave their basic information. This information goes from the ticket office to our computers and, if people can be admitted to Lithuania, they are issued with facilitated transit documents,” he added.
According to the former diplomat, this system, which has been in place for almost 20 years, may be unique in the world, as a Lithuanian consul sits on every train and checks the transit documents.
Meanwhile, Januška said there were no changes in terms of goods transit:
“The EU was convinced that the common conditions that exist across the block are good for everyone and that there is no need for separate agreements.”
Military transit
Soldiers from Kaliningrad are also fighting in the war in Ukraine. However, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry assured that no Russian soldiers passed through Lithuanian territory because Russia has to apply to Lithuania for military transit each time.
According to Januška, as early as 1993, Russia demanded that a special treaty on military transit be signed, but Lithuania’s position was that it has to be in accordance with Lithuanian law.
“Transit used to take place when relations were still slightly different, but Russia had to apply every time. Under Lithuanian law, there were certain procedures, a separate examination, authorisation for carrying the cargo or not each time. There was no free corridor,” he said.
Firm position
Talking about the EU sanctions on the transit of some goods from Russia to Kaliningrad, Lithuania's veteran diplomats say Europe should not give in to Russian threats.
Lithuanian MEP Petras Auštrevičius hinted this week that the European Commission prepared a document and is willing to make concessions allowing Russian goods to pass through Lithuania. According to Valionis, however, it should not be forgotten that the sanctions are a response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Transit must not be a stone around our necks, it must give us additional freedom [...]. Russia provoked the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions that we adopted together with other EU countries. We have to comply with them,” he said.
“If we start to retreat, if we start to change things, Russia will see this as a challenge. Pressure is effective, which means it has to be applied [...]. If we have started, let us continue, knowing that the likelihood of Russia attacking Lithuania is small, but we are putting pressure on it in a really painful way,” he added.
Januška agreed that there should be no exceptions to the EU sanctions policy in Lithuania.
“This is the realisation of Russia’s old dream to create a special zone and for Lithuania to give up part of its sovereignty [...]. All the sanctions are designed to make it harder for Russia, not easier,” he said.
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