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Russia accused Lithuania of violating international law

Konstantin Kosachev, Russian Federation Senator

19 June 2022 03:15 (UTC +04:00)

Vice Speaker Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev in his Telegram channel accused Lithuania of violating international law due to the blockade of Kaliningrad, APA reports citing Lenta.ru

Lithuania, starting the blockade of Kaliningrad, violates a number of international legal acts that affect not only its own obligations, but also the obligations of the European Union (EU), he said.

“Regarding the beginning blockade of the Kaliningrad region by Lithuania. As an EU member state, Lithuania, within the framework of sanctions (national legislation), violates a number of legally binding international legal acts affecting not only the obligations of Lithuania itself, but also the European Union as a whole,” he wrote.

Kosachev recalled that, in accordance with the agreement on partnership and cooperation between Russia and the European Union of June 24, 1994, Lithuania undertook to ensure the free transit of goods through its territory. “Freedom of transit is one of the cornerstone principles of this organization,” he said, speaking also of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In addition, according to Kosachev, this principle is enshrined in a number of previous agreements – in particular, in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1947 and in agreements on rail transportation.

“At this rate, the West may even end up violating the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, where there is also freedom of transit and freedom of the high seas, which still allows ships to pass to the Kaliningrad region through neutral waters. Similarly, airspace,” Kosachev said.

Earlier, Lithuanian Railways reported that from Saturday, June 18, Lithuania will stop transiting from the Kaliningrad region and to the Kaliningrad region from other regions of Russia part of the list of goods that fall under the restrictive measures imposed by the European Union (EU).