The key facts

  • Ryabkov, speaking online at the OSCE round table 'The Militarization of Europe: What Next?', declared a growth in the West's provocative activity in the Baltic region
  • According to him, the Western states' plans to blockade Kaliningrad are 'a direct path to catastrophe'
  • The statement continues a series of warnings from Putin, Peskov, and the Russian Foreign Ministry about a response to attempts to isolate the region

Statement at the OSCE venue

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow is 'observing a growth in the malicious and provocative activity of the West in the Baltic region.' The remarks were delivered online at an OSCE round table devoted to the topic 'The Militarization of Europe: What Next?', RIA Novosti reports. Gazeta.Ru writes about this.

Warning about a blockade of Kaliningrad

According to Ryabkov, the Western states' plans to blockade Kaliningrad would be 'a direct path to catastrophe.' This statement fits into a series of earlier warnings from Russian officials on the subject of the region: earlier, as the outlet notes, President Vladimir Putin warned, that in the event of an attack on Kaliningrad, Russia's entire arsenal of weapons would be used, and on September 30 Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing, that a nuclear response to any attempts to blockade, for example, the Kaliningrad region is established by Russian regulatory documents. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry also warned the West about the consequences of attempts to isolate the Kaliningrad region.

Context

Thus, Ryabkov's remarks at the OSCE venue do not constitute a new decision or a change of position: they are a repetition and reinforcement of an already stated line at a diplomatic venue devoted to the militarization of Europe. The publication does not report any reaction from Western states or the OSCE to the statement; sources also provide no confirmation of any plans to blockade Kaliningrad — this is a Russian assessment of hypothetical plans.