Russia stands firm on its Baltic enclave

The federal centre is not going to permit the Kaliningrad region's "autonomous sailing", said a high-ranking source in the Kremlin administration commenting on recent publications in Western media about the need to revise the region's status in view of the possible expansion of the European Union (the Kaliningrad region is Russia’s territory in the Baltics turned enclave after USSR demise). According to the source cited by RIA Novosti, "there will be no change of the Kaliningrad region's status, in particular, it will not be granted a broader autonomy." On the contrary, "the Kremlin is currently preparing a package of proposals aimed at reaffirming the region's status as part of the Russian territory and at strengthening federal control over the region, said the presidential administration's spokesman. The Kremlin representative stressed that Vladimir Yegorov, the incumbent governor of the Kaliningrad Region who used to be commander of the Baltic Navy, "adheres firmly to the principles of statehood and is against the idea to grant the region a broader autonomy."