Russian State Duma to examine situation around Kaliningrad region

The Russian State Duma is to examine a draft resolution dealing with the situation around the Kaliningrad region during its plenary session here today. (The Kaliningrad region is a Russian enclave on the Baltic coast -- Ed.) Talking to RIA Novosti the other day, Dmitry Rogozin, who chairs the lower parliament house's foreign-affairs committee, noted that the document, which was drafted by his committee, supported the position of the Russian leadership, which opposes plans to issue visas to Russian citizens travelling from Kaliningrad region to mainland Russia and vice versa.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Razov and Kaliningrad-region governor Vladimir Yegorov will attend the State Duma's plenary session during the discussion of this highly important issue.

Russia must ensure unimpeded transit-traffic rights for the Kaliningrad region, Rogozin stressed.

Free transit traffic to Kaliningrad region and back should not be discussed with the European Union, Rogozin went on to say. We'll also emphatically reject any attempt to examine this as a purely technical issue, Rogozin added.

Russia doesn't object to the EU's expansion; however, the EU should not expand at the expense of Russia, which might well shrink in size, Rogozin stressed. According to Rogozin, this has something to do with Russian sovereignty and the foundations of its national security.