The escalation of the situation in Donbass expedited by Russia and a decision on keeping the Russian troops in Belarus after the end of a military exercise clearly evidences the need for the European Union (EU) to begin imposing sanctions on Russia, underlined the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council taking place in Brussels on 21 February 2022.
The Latvian Foreign Minister is certain that the EU should immediately launch a robust process of political and legal preparations for a round of sanctions. We consider that Russia deserves condemnation for its aggressive and destructive actions aimed at purposefully escalating the situation in the region and turning against Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said. The scope of EU sanctions should apply to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and Russia’s financial sector. Latvia also stands up for introducing export control restrictions on Russia in order to restrain the transfer of dual-use goods and high technologies to Russia, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined.
In his comment on the Russian troops staying in Belarus after a Russia-Belarus joint military exercise, Soyuznaya Reshimost (Allied Resolve), has been officially concluded, Edgars Rinkēvičs noted that Belarus was descending into an increasingly greater dependence on Russia. This step, according to Edgars Rinkēvičs, is seriously undermining the sovereignty of Belarus.
At the Foreign Affairs Council, the EU Member States’ Foreign Ministers also had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitro Kuleba, who presented Ukraine’s perspective of the current state of play in light of the threat of Russia’s military invasion. Edgars Rinkēvičs reaffirmed Latvia’s strong support for Ukraine and called on the EU to launch a sanctions procedure against Russia. The Latvian Foreign Minister also expressed support for holding a meeting the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Kyiv in the near future.