Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on the draft law on sanctions on Belarus under consideration in Lithuania

We are extremely concerned about the news of a possible ban on the transit of goods from Belarus through Lithuania.

We are convinced that this path will lead to a dead end since it can affect the provision of supplies to the Kaliningrad Region and negatively affect the economy, social status and quality of life of the residents of that Russian region.

At the same time, we were surprised to learn that Poland, without prior notice, tightened the requirement to present PCR tests at the Russian-Polish border and reduced test validity to 24 hours. We understand the complexity of the epidemiological situation and the need for proper measures to combat the pandemic. However, we believe steps that affect the daily lives of many people should be discussed with the international stakeholders and announced in advance.

Of course, if adopted, the above restrictive measures will not go unnoticed by Russia. We call on our partners not to follow the path of undermining economic ties, but instead to do everything possible to normalise the situation and comply in full with Lithuania’s international obligations to ensure Russian cargo transit to and from the Kaliningrad Region, in particular, the 1993 Russian-Lithuanian intergovernmental agreement on international road transport and other agreements.