On 24 February 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part remotely in the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the participating states of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.
“Exactly a year ago, Russia launched its brutal war against Ukraine. Russian aggression facilitated by Belarus has shaken the security architecture in Europe. We must stand up against the aggressor and its violations of international law. Every sovereign country has the right to choose its own foreign policy course. This applies to Ukraine just like to any other country. Ukraine has the right to defend itself against foreign aggression. Latvia pays tribute to all Ukrainians who died defending their homeland. The only responsibility for the war lies with Russia. Russia started this war, and Russia alone can and must end it immediately. Russia must withdraw its forces from the entire territory of Ukraine,” Edgars Rinkēvičs said in his address.
At the meeting, the Foreign Minister utterly condemned Russia’s premediated attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine. “Too many innocent civilians, including children, have been killed. More than 17 million people have been forced to leave their homes or leave their country,” Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined.
The Latvian Foreign Minister called on all the OSCE participating states to increase their assistance to Ukraine. “Since the very first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Latvia has provided it with all possible support. Latvia is welcoming refugees from Ukraine and will continue providing humanitarian and defence assistance to Ukraine. Within the OSCE, Latvia contributes to the Support Programme for Ukraine. We also supported OSCE experts in investigating Russia’s human rights violations in Ukraine. The results clearly demonstrated that Russia had committed war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine. Russia will be held accountable. In addition to the sustained efforts to investigate atrocities, Latvia calls for the establishment of a special ad hoc international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” said Edgars Rinkēvičs in his speech.