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Professor of Political Philosophy, Rami Khalifa Al-Ali, said in his interview with the website "Sky News Arabia"that Berlin It sensed the seriousness of the Russian threats, and feared escalation and direct war between Moscow andNATO; This exacerbates the energy crisis and inflation in the Europe.
The German Chancellor askedOlaf SchultzLithuania and the European Union to lift restrictions on the transfer of Russian goods In Kaliningrad, noting at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Madrid, that European sanctions once morest Russia should not be applied to the territory belonging to the Russian territory.
Hours following Schultz’s statements, officials European Union Talks with Lithuania to exempt Russian goods passing through Kaliningrad from sanctions.
Reasons for backtracking
Al-Ali explains Germany’s position that Lithuania’s decision is a major provocation to Moscow, noting that the enclave belongs to Russian territory under previous agreements; This means that the sanctions are destroying the agreements, while Berlin is keen to avoid entering into a direct confrontation with Moscow.
Al-Ali explains that it is also an economic issue. Despite all the tension between Russia and the West, Germany is looking for calm over the impact of this on Russian energy imports to Europe.
The Kaliningrad region is the headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Baltic Sea, and a corridor for the Russian construction, timber, glass, iron and steel industries.
Since 1994, a cooperation agreement has been signed between Russia and Lithuania, to maintain transit between them through this enclave, which has an area of regarding 223 km.
Because restricting transit through the territory amounts to isolating Russia, the Russian authorities considered the decision "violation of laws"And demanded the European Union to intervene to cancel it, vowing that Russia will deal with Lithuania as a country that does not belong to the Union if the embargo continues.
Specialists suggested that this threat means that Moscow may withdraw from the agreements concluded in 2002 with the Union regarding Lithuania, which allowed it to join the Union and NATO, or create a corridor "my question" Between Lithuania and Poland there is an alternative to freight transport, under which Russia can isolate the Baltic states from Europe, threatening a clash with NATO.
Following the Lithuanian embargo, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country would deliver missiles to Belarus, which borders Lithuania. "Iskandar M" capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The fate of the German demand
Al-Ali blamed the United States for the possibility of pushing to amend the sanctions and Lithuania’s reversal of the ban: "If Lithuania finds a request from Washington in this direction, it will respond to the German request, especially since the United States is leading the military and economic strategy, and holding the strings of the game.".
Al-Ali raises the question: Where is the Washington Index heading? And he answers: "Do I think its recent positions at the NATO summit and the G7 meeting are really heading towards further escalation".
On the other hand, Lithuania considered Germany’s position "defeat"newspaper quotes "der Spiegel" German for a Lithuanian official as saying: "We have not changed our position".
Since the beginning of the region’s crisis, Washington has shown its support for Vilnius on the basis of Article 5 of the NATO Charter on the defense of member states.
As for the possibility of division within the European bloc or NATO over the Kaliningrad crisis, Al-Ali rules out that, stressing that the difference is not a radical one between the German and American positions, but rather is related to tactics. Germany and France do not want to clash with Russia, and they maintain dialogue with it, and at the same time support Ukraine and looking for ways to thwart Russia in the war.
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Professor of political philosophy, Rami Khalifa Al-Ali, told Sky News Arabia, Berlin It sensed the seriousness of the Russian threats, and feared escalation and direct war between Moscow andNATO; This exacerbates the energy crisis and inflation in the Europe.
The German Chancellor askedOlaf SchultzLithuania and the European Union to lift restrictions on the transfer of Russian goods In Kaliningrad, noting at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Madrid, that European sanctions once morest Russia should not be applied to the territory belonging to the Russian territory.
Hours following Schultz’s statements, officials European Union Discussions with Lithuania to exempt Russian goods passing through Kaliningrad from sanctions.
Reasons for backtracking
Al-Ali explains Germany’s position that Lithuania’s decision is a major provocation to Moscow, noting that the enclave belongs to Russian territory under previous agreements; This means that the sanctions are destroying the agreements, while Berlin is keen to avoid entering into a direct confrontation with Moscow.
Al-Ali explains that it is also an economic issue. Despite all the tension between Russia and the West, Germany is looking for calm over the impact of this on Russian energy imports to Europe.
The Kaliningrad region is the headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Baltic Sea, and a corridor for the Russian construction, timber, glass, iron and steel industries.
Since 1994, a cooperation agreement has been signed between Russia and Lithuania, to maintain transit between them through this enclave, which has an area of regarding 223 km.
And because the restriction of transit through the region amounts to isolating Russia, the Russian authorities considered the decision a “violation of laws,” and demanded the European Union to intervene to cancel it, promising that Russia would deal with Lithuania as a country that does not belong to the Union if the embargo continued.
Specialists suggested that this threat means that Moscow may withdraw from the agreements concluded in 2002 with the Union on Lithuania, which allowed it to join the Union and NATO, or create an alternative to the “Swalki” corridor between Lithuania and Poland for the transport of goods, according to which Russia can isolate the Baltic countries from Europe. , What portends a clash with NATO.
Following the Lithuanian embargo, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country would hand over to Belarus, neighboring Lithuania, “Iskander-M” missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The fate of the German demand
Al-Ali blamed the United States for the possibility of pushing for the amendment of the sanctions and Lithuania’s retraction of the embargo: “If Lithuania finds a request from Washington in this direction, it will respond to the German request, especially since the United States is the one who leads the military and economic strategy, and holds the strings of the game.”
Al-Ali raises the question: Where is the Washington Index heading? And he answers: “Do I think that its recent positions at the NATO summit and the G7 meeting are really heading towards further escalation?”
On the other hand, Lithuania considered Germany’s position a “defeat”, and the German newspaper “Der Spiegel” quoted a Lithuanian official as saying: “We have not changed our position.”
Since the beginning of the region’s crisis, Washington has shown its support for Vilnius on the basis of Article 5 of the NATO Charter on the defense of member states.
As for the possibility of division within the European bloc or NATO over the Kaliningrad crisis, Al-Ali rules out that, stressing that the difference is not a radical one between the German and American positions, but rather is related to tactics. Germany and France do not want to clash with Russia, and they maintain dialogue with it, and at the same time support Ukraine and looking for ways to thwart Russia in the war.
