KALININGRAD, May 3. /TASS/. The proposal by Finnish politician Mika Aaltola to cut Russia off from the Kaliningrad region is absurd, the head of the press service of the regional government, Dmitry Lyskov, told TASS.
Earlier Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and a candidate in the 2024 European Parliament elections, Mika Aaltola, said that GPS interference allegedly coming from Russia and Kaliningrad is hampering navigation of flights and therefore, in his opinion, Russia's access to Kaliningrad should be limited.
"Unfortunately, we note that the statements of various politicians from our neighboring states are becoming more and more absurd and are already on the verge of inadequacy. Firstly, both land and air Kaliningrad transit, including passenger transit, was limited in an absolutely voluntaristic manner by the Baltic countries first of all by Lithuania. This is also why passenger traffic to our Khrabrovo airport has increased significantly," Lyskov said. He noted that now the Aeroflot group of companies alone makes about 20 flights from Kaliningrad to other regions per day.
The official clarified that Russian passenger planes use the same GPS system as European ones and do not experience any difficulties in navigation.
"Due to restrictions, our planes fly over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. <...> And now I would like to ask our Finnish neighbors - what is the difference between the GPS module in Aeroflot Boeing or Airbus and, for example, Finnair? The answer is simple - nothing. Therefore, before making such statements, we advise everyone to open any application for tracking passenger aircraft and look at the routes, otherwise there is a risk of getting into an absurd situation," Lyskov noted.
About enclave
The Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea is separated from mainland Russia by the borders of the European Union countries. EU sanctions limit the land transit of a number of goods into the region. By rail, goods included in the sanction lists can only be transported in line with quotas set by the European Union, and such goods are prohibited from being transported by truck. An alternative to traveling by land is to transport goods to the region through the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea.
Air transportation is the main type of passenger communication between the region and mainland Russia.
Long-distance passenger trains run year-round between Kaliningrad and Moscow, St. Petersburg and Adler. This passenger communication with the region implies transit travel through Lithuania. The maximum allowable quota of seats on a Russian transit train is 300.