"That is the victory of our diplomacy as a significant amount of the restrictions on the transit to Kaliningrad, accounting for over 80%, was lifted," Alikhanov told the Russian Russiya-1 broadcaster.
The official went on to say that the development of a sea bridge for goods transportation to Kaliningrad will continue despite the positive results on the transit via Lithuania.
Alikhanov added that the control of railway transit via Lithuania under the EU guidelines will not pose a problem as there are generally accepted methods of cargo surveillance.
According to the governor, the first deliveries of goods to Kaliningrad by rail should begin "literally today or tomorrow."
However, the decision on the Kaliningrad transit is not complete and work on the issue is still required, the governor added, saying that the automobile transit of sanctioned goods is still not allowed.
The European Commission has released clarifications on the sanctions, according to which rail transit to Kaliningrad is allowed in compliance with a number of conditions. The transit of sanctioned Russian goods is prohibited only by road, but railway transit is allowed under necessary control.
The European Union banned Russia-registered trucks in early April but made an exemption for those transiting to Kaliningrad, which is located on the Baltic Sea coast. The current restrictions on the transit of Russian goods, announced by Lithuania, apply to all transit of goods sanctioned by the EU. Lithuanian Railways notified the Kaliningrad region's railway of halting the transit of a number of goods subject to EU sanctions on June 18.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is considering various options for responding to Lithuania's "unfriendly" move. Alikhanov said that the restrictions would not affect transit of oil products at least until August 10 and that the Kaliningrad region would mobilize its ferry fleet to compensate for railroad cargo cuts.