Russian lawmaker: Baltic exclave blockade may fuel conflict

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Russian lawmaker has warned that Lithuania’s refusal to allow some goods targeted by European Union sanctions through to Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad could trigger a military confrontation. Vladimir Dzhabarov, a deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of Russian parliament, said that if the Kalingrad region faces blockade “it could lead to an armed conflict.” Dzhabarov warned that “if we see that a threat to our security … we will certainly take extreme measures and nothing will stop us.” Dzhabarov’s statement followed Moscow’s warning that it will retaliate against restrictions of transit to the Kaliningrad region that borders Poland and Lithuania, raising fears of a Russian-NATO conflict amid the fighting in Ukraine.