ENVOY BARGAINS WITH LITHUANIA OVER KALININGRAD. Russian
President
Vladimir Putin's special envoy on Kaliningrad, Dmitrii
Rogozin,
told journalists after his visit to the region and his talks
with
Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas on 11-13 August that
he
traveled to Kaliningrad by car in order to gain a better
understanding
of the exclave's problems, ORT and other Russian
news agencies reported on 14
August. Rogozin, who is chairman of the
Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee,
also said that Russia may
attempt to block Lithuania's entry into the
European Union by not
ratifying a bilateral accord on border delineation.
Such a measure
would make it impossible for Vilnius to comply with a European
Union
requirement that members have no outstanding border disputes.
Rogozin
added, however, that he hopes that Lithuania will agree to
a
compromise that will allow Russians free access to
Kaliningrad.
Rogozin's Lithuanian counterpart Gediminas Kirkilas expressed
his
disappointment that "Rogozin's speeches in Kaliningrad differed
from
those in Lithuania," according to the 16 August edition of
"Lietuvos zinios."
Russia's latest position on EU-required visas
is to oppose a Lithuanian
proposal made to Kaliningrad Oblast
Governor Vladimir Yegorov that special
magnetic identification cards
be issued to the oblast's residents that would
serve as a
"simplified visa document." Rogozin said no foreign "officials
or
computers" should interfere with the right of Russian citizens
to
travel from one Russian region to another, BNS reported on 12
August.