Tensions have been running high in recent weeks over Russian rail transport to Kaliningrad, which is sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland.
The crisis started when the EU implemented new sanctions against Moscow in mid-June, under which the bloc banned imports of Russian steel and ferrous materials. The train line supplying goods from Russia to Kaliningrad passes through Lithuania, so customs agents started stopping freight trains for checks. This, in turn, led to Moscow threatening "practical" retaliatory action if the EU didn't unblock metal goods stuck in transit.
Comment: As of right now, Moscow simply said it would ferry goods, but that Lithuania would soon lose out on some very profitable deals it enjoys thanks to Russia. Lithuania is currently suffering the second highest inflation rate in the EU, at 22%: Lithuania's blockade of Kaliningrad receives no support from West, Russia prepares 'practical' response
Speaking at a press conference at the NATO summit in Madrid, Scholz said that it was "a matter for the European Union to set the necessary framework and rules" for freight transport from Russia to its enclave.
"And, of course, these [rules] must always be set in the light of the fact that we are dealing here with traffic between two parts of Russia," he added, suggesting that EU sanctions against Russian goods should not apply because these goods were not entering the bloc as imports but just passing in transit.
EU officials are currently in talks with Lithuania to exempt freight traffic between Russia and its Kaliningrad enclave from the sanctions.
"I believe that all parties involved are currently making great efforts to establish a de-escalation dynamic here," Scholz said.
Reader Comments
The President seemed against the blockade but the prime minister, Ingrida ล imonytฤ, comes across as a total Karen who would love to replace Elensky as the next global star
Is it measured in billions of $?
If so, the value of that is decreasing.
OK, lets turn it into a formula.
1. If there are a few corrupt leaders you can buy a country typically for less than 1% of its GDP - I mean you can buy the corrupt leaders.
2. If there is already pandemonium, odds are you could get 50% off the the corrupt few.
3. So make an offer if you are looking for a bargain.
~
That is what the corrupt few hope for, but odds are, the gallows are in their future.
Poem of the Day, BK, 7322 1326
That's about 1 month of additional national debt the US incurs every month
I reckon the US could buy outright the three Baltic states for around $500 billion
Don't you mean clavicles ... There's no way Trump and his little hands could reach the steering wheel from the back of a limo
Cyanide pills all round for the narrative pushers
The Russians promised an asymmetric response, and it seems their leadership is based mostly on meritocratic principles.
I want Russia to be safe, but I also want them to punish the West with no mercy and never stop, the provocations of the past decade are absolutely unforgivable, Russia has always tried to be cooperative & reasonable but the West has escalated conditions to the point where cooperating with them is no longer reasonable.
That vulture got run over. Its dead now.
Stop eating after your tummy full is the conclusion any reasonable vulture would make - that way you get to fly again.
I've never understood why people are adverse to a bit of hunger
Fat americans - big poo-pah fat ones all over the place - so fat they have a hard time getting out of the car at McDonalds - they piss me off.
Fat stupid americans getting ready to eat hot dogs on 7/4 celebrating something they are so fat they don't even know shit from shat - they piss me off.
Fat ass bankers spending money they don't own...money of debt - they piss me off even more.
The us of a, I'm sad to say is a shit-hole filled with a bunch of clueless fat asses - nature has a way of dealing with this sort of effing shame. Donkeys and Elephants are symbols for parties that are no different when they get to the swamp of fat wallets in DC - full of fiat currency on the way to the black hole of worthlessness.
So, shove them off to the side, and lets get down to some serious business because not all of us in this land are fat asses.