LRT English Newsletter – July 15, 2022.
The long-awaited Kaliningrad verdict from Brussels is out – Russia can continue ferrying sanctioned goods via Lithuania by rail (as long as the volumes stay within the 3-year average).
Vilnius is now forced to backtrack, agreeing to accept the guidelines issued by the European Commission and resume transit of sanctioned goods. The reactions in Lithuania have been far less unanimous and the hunt for who’s to blame is on.
Democrats ‘For Lithuania’, one of the largest opposition groups in the parliament, are calling on Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis to take responsibility; Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has deflected the blame, saying the government cannot take responsibility for the “opinions” of the European Commission; President Gitanas Nausėda says the move “will fend off the Kremlin’s further disinformation and unfounded accusations against Lithuania”; the country’s former president, Dalia Grybauskaitė, has alleged “the political elite have demonstrated their inability to make strategic foreign policy decisions”.
There have also been mixed responses in Russia – the governor of Kaliningrad said this marked only the first step, while the Russian Foreign Ministry told Reuters it welcomed the “common sense” decision but said some questions remain. For Dimitry Medvedev, the former president, the EU’s decision was an indication of “fear”.
Brussels, for its part, said Lithuania had done nothing wrong and dismissed claims the bloc had negotiated with Russia.
The Kaliningrad saga is increasingly looking like Lithuania’s isolation over Taiwan. Despite pledging support, Brussels has (arguably) done little to ward off China’s economic pressure after Taiwan opened a diplomatic office in Vilnius. Then, diplomats in Brussels – speaking off the record – accused Lithuania of acting unilaterally but then seeking bloc-wide support.
According to Vilnius officials, at least the United States supported its Taiwan initiative. With the Kaliningrad question, even Washington welcomed the EU's move to defuse the stand-off against Russia.
For Lithuania then, doubling down on Kaliningrad sanctions would have meant facing the Kremlin alone. Who will take the fall for the mess – if anyone – is yet to be seen.
MORE RUSSIA NEWS
In more Russia news:
– queues are forming on Lithuania’s borders with Russia and Belarus as the country seeks to ensure the implementation of EU sanctions.
– the Baltic states would connect to the European power grid in 24 hours if Russia decides to cut the electricity. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are currently part of the Moscow-controlled BRELL network that also includes Belarus. A switch to the European system is planned in the next several years.
– ethnic Lithuanians in Kaliningrad are living in fear, according to the community’s representative.
– if it wasn’t for NATO, Russian troops may already be in Lithuania, a former US official said in an interview with LRT.lt.
RENT CAPS?
Vilnius has seen skyrocketing rental prices, with students being particularly vulnerable, as the market demand and inflation have driven up the prices of even the most modest apartments. To respond, some MPs have suggested introducing rent caps.
COVID RETURNS
Covid is making a comeback across Europe, with Lithuania being no exception. The numbers of daily infections have been rising, while the country is mulling returning to sequencing testing to identify the dominant coronavirus variant. But because the strains are not as deadly, there are no plans to reintroduce restrictions.
MIGRATION CRISIS
Lithuania’s migration crisis continues to simmer, as the border guards continue pushing back several dozen people arriving on the country’s border from Belarus every day. Those who remain in the country, according to the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office, face “degrading treatment”. The national legislation, according to the Interior Ministry, was what allowed to stop the Minsk regime from continuing to weaponise migration. The ministry has called on the EU to review its migration laws.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– Islands, canals, and brothels – how did the trendy Paupys district look like 200 years ago?
– Lithuania’s Kaunas has made it among Time’s greatest places of 2022. Highlight – the city’s cultural programme.
– Lithuanians would most support the country’s incumbent President Gitanas Nausėda and former President Dalia Grybauskaitė in a presidential election, according to a recent survey.
– Lithuania’s crowdfunded Bayraktar drone has reached Ukraine.
– Honest journalism is currently outlawed in Russia, says Echo Moskvy journalist Maikl Naki who has left the country and settled in Lithuania following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
– Jewish tombstones used to build steps on Tauro Hill in Vilnius during the Soviet occupation will be returned to the cemetery.
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Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Ieva Žvinakytė
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