On 21 September 2023, during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan.
While discussing cooperation between Latvia and Türkiye, the officials confirmed their mutual interest in the strengthening of bilateral dialogue and cooperation within NATO. The Foreign Ministers also discussed topics on the Council of Europe’s agenda, in view of Latvia’s current Presidency of the Council of Europe. Krišjānis Kariņš noted that one of the priorities of the Latvian Presidency was to promote the enforcement of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
The conversation partners exchanged views on the current security situation in Europe and the consequences of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. The Latvian Foreign Minister welcomed the efforts of Türkiye to resume the Black Sea grain initiative and he expressed the interest of Latvia in an early ratification of Sweden’s NATO Accession Protocol by the Turkish Parliament. Krišjānis Kariņš expressed concerns over developments in Karabakh and voiced hope in a peaceful resolution of the situation through the use of all the diplomatic and political instruments available.
Foreign Ministers also discussed cooperation opportunities in international organisations.
