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.
“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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