Lithuania has abolished the post of attaché for customs issues in the Russian Federation at the embassy in Moscow. The decision was made on March 15 at a meeting of the government of the Baltic republic.
“Given that the scale of cooperation with Russia in the future is likely to be reduced or even become minimal, it makes no sense to extend the ending powers of the customs attache,” the press service of the Lithuanian government noted.
At the same time, Lithuania established the post of customs attache in Ukraine and the UK. The Lithuanian Cabinet predicted that after the end of the Ukrainian conflict, the volume of trade between the countries “will inevitably increase due to the need to restore Ukraine.”
At the end of January, Lithuania called on the countries of the European Union (EU) to downgrade the status of the Russian diplomatic mission, following the example of the Baltic countries. Vilnius was the first to take such steps, announcing the expulsion of the Russian ambassador to Lithuania in May 2022.
In the same month, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics made a statement about the decision taken by the republic to lower the level of diplomatic relations with Russia. He wrote about this on Twitter, adding that Latvia “requires Russia to act accordingly.” This is done in solidarity with Estonia.
The authorities of the Baltic countries have long been known for their Russophobic and anti-Russian policies. It especially intensified after the start of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass. On January 10, the Latvian Foreign Ministry stated that it was in the interests of Riga to achieve the defeat of Russia.
