The Baltic countries proposed to include Russian grain in the EU sanctions package

The Baltic countries propose to include the import of Russian and Belarusian grain in the package of EU sanctions.

The Baltic countries support the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian grain in the EU sanctions package, said the Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania Marius Skoudis, as TV3.lt  reports.

On Wednesday, Skoudis discussed the issue of strengthening sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus with Estonian Climate Minister Kristen Michal and Latvian Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens.

“We agreed that it is necessary to coordinate all actions with each other, avoiding individual national initiatives and to continue exchanging information on issues of the transport sector, such as grain and others,” the Lithuanian minister added.

Skudis said on Wednesday that a small amount of Russian grain is transited through Lithuania, while most of it is transited through Latvia, which is a big problem.

The head of the Lithuanian Association of Grain Producers, Aushris Matsiauskas, called for strengthening control at the border between Lithuania and Latvia in order to prevent Russian grain from entering Lithuania. He said that Russian grain is transported in transit through Latvia, and part of this cargo also reaches Lithuania.

According to the Minister of Agriculture of Lithuania Kästutis Navickas, Russian grain can enter Lithuania by forging documents about its origin.