Moscow could bring down half of Lithuania’s economy in response to the partial trade blockade of Kaliningrad Region, Russia, its governor has said.
“The transport sector of the Baltic states could be destroyed if Russia implements counter-sanctions on the goods coming in and out of the Baltic states,” Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov told Russian newspaper Vedomosti on Monday.
“Russia could make half of the Lithuanian economy disappear,” he said. “There’s an impression that Lithuania doesn’t understand that Kaliningrad Region is part of Russia, and that we have someone to come to the rescue. We’re not alone in the face of the problem.”
Kaliningrad Region is a small Russian exclave nestled between Lithuania and Poland, both EU members.