VILNIUS. April 16 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia must respond more quickly to the latest developments related to the upcoming introduction of visas for Russian servicemen going to the western enclave of Kaliningrad through Lithuania within teams, an expert said on Tuesday.
"Lithuania will introduce visas for servicemen going to the Kaliningrad region as part of teams starting from January 1, 2003. Visas will be obligatory for all Russians starting from July 1, 2003," Raimundas Lopata, director of the Foreign Relations and Political Science Institute of the Vilnius University, told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Lopata believes that Russia should respond more quickly to the situation that is emerging in the Kaliningrad region. In particular, it is necessary to expand the infrastructure of consular services and employ more personnel.
Lithuania's Consul General in Kaliningrad Vitautas Zalis said the Lithuanian party made a decision to speed up construction of new buildings and employing more consulate officials yet last year. However the Russian party has not satisfied Lithuania's request for expanding the consulate.