Vilnius is ready to expand the list of goods banned from transit to Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad should the European Union introduce new sanctions against Moscow, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Wednesday. The country is also ready to face any potential retaliatory measures Russia might introduce, he told Reuters in an interview.
“We are ready and we are prepared for unfriendly actions from Russia, such as disconnection from the BRELL [power grid] system, or others,” Nauseda said.
The president stressed that the transit restrictions were not a sovereign move by Lithuania, but merely the implementation of the EU sanctions against Moscow introduced over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “We feel the support of the European Union, because this is a decision made by the European Union,” he said, adding that the country was ready to expand the list of banned goods should the bloc introduce new restrictions against Russia.
“We are looking forward to implementing the next stages of the sanctions, and it would be very good if the European Commission explains their content to the Russian authorities. It could remove some of the current tensions, which are not in the interest of either the European Union or Russia,” Nauseda stated.