Russia demands NATO not to foment tensions with blockade of Kaliningrad
Ned Price assured that the Atlantic Alliance could apply article 5 in Lithuania.
Photo: Paulius Pelekis / Getty Images
By: EFE Updated 22 Jun 2022, 9: 43 am EDT
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Riabkov, called on the European Union (EU) and in particular the NATO not to stir up tensions with the partial blockade of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, adjacent to two member countries of the Atlantic Alliance.
“I would like to alert NATO members and EU politicians to these dangerous rhetoric regarding the conflict,” said the Russian diplomat, in response to statements of the US Department of State spokesman. Ned Price, who assured that the Atlantic Alliance could apply article 5 in Lithuania.
The representative of US diplomacy confirmed support for NATO and Lithuania , and stated that “ an attack against one member would constitute an attack against all”
, as stipulated in the aforementioned article.
“Unfortunately in the West there are forces with a lot of influence and with access to power who do their best to continue to stir up tensions with Russia. It is an alarming fact”, Riabkov pointed out.
🇷🇺 Andrey Klimov:
«A NATO member is committing direct aggression against Russia.»
«Moscow must defend itself and solve the Kaliningrad transit problem created by Lithuania by any means we choose.» pic.twitter.com/V3B8dvrXgC
— FierroFortis (@FierroFortis) June 21, 2022
According to the Russian deputy foreign minister, “the impression is created that some politicians simply have no limits when it comes to inventing scripts in which an armed confrontation seems inevitable . We assume all the circumstances with an extreme degree of responsibility”, he stated.
He made it clear that Russia’s priority lies in avoiding a direct conflict between the nuclear powers.
The senior Russian diplomat expressed: “ the limitations on transit to Kaliningrad imposed by the EU and Lithuania represent a serious blow against the foundations of European architecture, which existed for a long time. We will guarantee our interests, there will be response measures that are now in the process of being studied”, he indicated. the Russian response “ will not be diplomatic but practical” and recalled that Moscow demanded that Brussels and Vilnius repeal the restrictions, “and if that does not happen, we will take response measures.”
The spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, pointed out at a press conference that the illegal sanctions approved by the EU cannot be applied in this situation, since they contradict the Association and Cooperation Agreement of 1994 between Moscow and Brussels.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Kaliningrad, Anton Alijánov, assured that the inhabitants of the enclave maintain good relations with their neighbors in Lithuania and Poland despite the sanctions .
🇷🇺🇱 🇹 | URGENT: Russia promises “serious” consequences for Lithuania for transit restrictions to Kaliningrad.
— Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) June 21, 2022
“We have pretty good relationships at the business level, at the level of ordinary people. Despite the aggressive rhetoric and actions, we have good relations with both the Lithuanians and the Poles, and we will always find solutions even if your governments try to limit us in some way”, he declared on Russian television.
Alikhanov added that despite all attempts by the West to split Kaliningrad from Russia, they will not succeed in this undertaking.
The day before, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, stated that Moscow “ will undoubtedly react to these hostile actions. The corresponding averages are studied in an inter-institutional format and will be approved shortly. Sus consequences will seriously affect the population of Lithuania”.
Kaliningrad, formerly Konigsberg, is an enclave that is separated from the rest of Russia and which borders two EU and NATO countries, Lithuania and Poland.
Lithuanian authorities made a decision to restrict rail transit from Saturday through its territory in the direction of Kaliningrad, and this Tuesday road transport, as part of the sanctions imposed on Russia for its military campaign in Ukraine.
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