Lithuania rejects Russia's request to ease the existing EU sanctions in exchange for an agreement on the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.
"A blackmailer is only as strong as we allow him to be," Lithuanian Foreign Vice Minister Jovita Neliupšienė, now in Brussels, told LRT RADIO on Thursday. "I don't think we should rush into making any concessions because if we give a finger, we will probably get our whole hand cut off."
She made the remarks as EU diplomatic leaders were due to discuss the war in Ukraine and the EU's measures in Brussels later on Thursday.
An EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the LRT that the EU was ready to listen to Russia's requests referred by the United Nations to renew Ukraine's grain export agreement, and lifting part of the sanctions against Moscow is one of them.
The Kremlin withdrew from this agreement earlier this week.
"This is not the first time we have seen blackmail. This attempt to use grain, foodstuffs, food security as a weapon proves once again that there's no limit to Russian aggression and Russian action," Neliupšienė said. "I don't think sanction easing would solve the problem."
The West must look for ways to ensure Ukrainian grain exports, she added.
"We could export more than 25 million tons of grain through Baltic ports," the vice minister said.
Earlier this week, the CEO of the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda said the country could ship more than 10 million tons of grain, but bringing it to the port was still a major issue.
Further reading
According to Algis Latakas, Klaipėda now has a capacity of accepting 10 to 15 million tonnes of grain, including Lithuania's grain exports of around 3.5 million tons.
Ukrainian grain was temporarily exported via other EU countries last year following the outbreak of war in Ukraine and Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea port.
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