Lithuania terminates 30-year agreement with Russia

Lithuanian authorities have decided to terminate the trade navigation agreement with Russia that was signed 30 years ago.

During a government meeting, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė expressed concerns about lingering agreements, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

"I have a question about how many other treaties remain in effect. It seems we've conducted an inventory, however, various agreements keep resurfacing," she remarked.

Šimonytė noted that cross-border trade and economic cooperation between the two countries has been completely suspended, which justifies the annulment of the agreement.

The trade navigation agreement, signed by the two former Soviet republics in 1993, was intended to facilitate freedom of maritime navigation. 

Earlier, Lithuania's Finance Ministry had called for the termination of the customs cooperation agreement with Russia. In practice, Lithuania has suspended cross-border trade and economic cooperation with both Russia and Belarus since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

Western analysts have modeled a hypothetical conflict scenario involving Russia and the Baltic countries.

By Naila Huseynova