Kyiv promises not to block Russian cargo transit through Ukraine
In an interview with the Ukrainian Channel 5, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan said that the Ukrainian authorities are not going to block the transit of Russian cargo through the territory of their country.
“Transit volume drops every year. Once again Russia is doing it deliberately to bleed Ukraine, but we cannot affect this process. For our part, we certainly do not plan to block transit, because we have obligations under the WTO (World Trade Organization), “said Omelyan.
Earlier, Omelyan, who had already warned about the possibility of blocking the railway transport system with Moscow, said that he had signed a "historical document".
Later, taking to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, Omelyan noted that the mentioned restrictions would affect not only the railway transport system.
On Monday, August 6, Omelyan said that the government was considering closing the railway transport system with Moscow. At the same time, the operator of Ukrainian railways Ukrzaliznytsia stated that the company will implement "all the decisions taken at the highest government level". The main body that forms and ensures the implementation of state policy in the transport sector is the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
A few months before this statement, the newspaper Kommersant reported, with reference to its sources, that the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Olexandr Turchinov and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy actively lobbied this decision. At that time, the state operator of Ukrainian railways Ukrzaliznytsya denied such plans.
The Ministry of Transport of Russia stated that it is prepared for the possible suspension of railway and bus traffic between the two countries by the Ukrainian authorities. Russian transport Minister Yevgeny Dietrich explained that if the Ukrainian authorities decide to stop railway traffic between the countries, Russia will take retaliatory measures.