Conflicts with Russia over Lithuanian exports intertwined with Lithuania’s presidential election campaign

Since Monday, the Russian Customs Service has been working under orders of the director of the Russian consumer protection agency to prevent Lithuanian dairy products from entering the country. So far this ban applies only to dairy products, though there have been discussions of a possible future ban on meat and fish. The director of the Lithuanian State Food and Veterinary service Jonas Milius called the situation unprecedented. He said that it is particularly unusual because Lithuanian officials were not informed of the ban on the Lithuanian products.

A similar political conflict has been going on with Russia for over a month. Specifically, drivers of Lithuanian freight trucks have been stopped and inspected more frequently.

Ekspertai.eu notes that this situation is actively being used in the Lithuanian presidential election campaign. The current president of Lithuania  Dalia Grybauskaite criticized her potential opponent Algirdas Butkevičiaus’ government, which she claimed is not taking measures to help Lithuanian business. In turn, Mr. Butkevičius yesterday retorted that Lithuania does not have problems with Russia, but with China because of the lack of an agreement regarding dairly exports, which is a hint that the president’s meeting with the Dalai Lama undermined relations with China.