Transit limit for some Kaliningrad good has already been exhausted – Lithuania's LTG

VILNIUS - Russia has already exhausted the limit for the transit of some sanctioned goods through Lithuania to and from Kaliningrad, so they are no longer transported by Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), the country's state-owned railway company, the railway company says.

"The averages of some commodity codes for iron and steel, wood products, fertilizers, ethylene glycol, as well as some other commodities, have already been reached," LTG told BNS on Wednesday.

Currently, the averages of sanctioned goods allowed to transit Lithuania by rail between Russia and Kaliningrad this year are calculated on the basis of the average of goods transported by rail in 2019-2021, in accordance with the European Commission's guidance issued in July.

Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov said on Tuesday the exclave can no longer import oil, timber, fertilizers and some other sanctioned goods through Lithuania due to the existing EU restrictions.

LTG says the list of sanctioned goods allowed to transit for the Russian region's needs includes several hundred codes and the quantities are evaluated on a case-by-case basis once applications are received.

According to LTG the average volume of all such goods amounts to 3.1 million tons, including coal (1.07 million tons), ferrous metals (590,000 tons), timber and wood products (60,000 tons), cement (260,000 tons), food products, animal feed, beverages, tobacco (60,000 tons), oil and oil products (980,000 tons), other goods (80,000 tons).

Alikhanov, among other things, suggested that Russian Railways should open an account with the Lithuanian state treasury to pay for transit to and from Kaliningrad, but Lithuania claims that such a possibility is not provided for by law.

"The law on the state treasury does not provide for such a possibility," the Finance Ministry told BNS.

On July 22, LTG resumed the transit of sanctioned goods between mainland Russia and Kaliningrad after it was suspended in mid-June. 

Under the existing EU sanctions for Russia, the country was banned from transport steel and ferrous metals via the EU territory from June 17. The same ban for cement, alcohol, wood, glass, aluminum, paper products, gypsum, ship parts, came into force on July 10, and the transportation of Russian oil and its products is set to be banned from December 5.