Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will have telephone conversation which is scheduled for 30 October 2013. Topics to be addressed are currently harmonised, according to BNS news agency.
The main issues proposed by Russia for conversation is a broader visa-free travel scheme for Kaliningrad residents and rebroadcast of the First Baltic Channel is among them. Unfortunately a dairy problem of Lithuania wasn't mentioned by Russia.
Lithuania prime minister said to BNS: "The main issue they proposed was whether Lithuania considered allowing residents of the Kaliningrad region to travel 100-120 km without visas instead of the current 50 km,"
According to information available to BNS news agency, among the topics Russia also included the sanctions against the Russian-language TV.
Butkevičius answered: "I have heard this, but I said that I do not solve such issues,"
"And dairy is not included in the discussion," Butkevičius said, but he is planning to run this question other conversation.
"Yes, yes, my question is how we can maintain economic relations in the future, as this is one of the instances when decisions to ban exports of our output to Russia are made without any prior warning, although we are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and WTO rules are clear about settlement of contestable issues – there has to be a prior warning, there has to be a dialogue and such severe decisions are only possible after discussions between parties," the Lithuania Prime Minister told BNS.
It is second week on Russians restrictions against Lithuania's four largest dairy companies – Rokiskio sūris, Pieno žvaigždės, Žemaitijos pienas and Vilkyškių pieninė – generating up to 40 per cent of their income by exporting products to Russia.