On 15 February 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, passed a decision in accordance with Section 61, Paragraph two of the Immigration Law on including three citizens of the Russian Federation – Damir Sadreev, Alexey Shvetsov, and Vitaliy Sokolov – in the list of personae non gratae in the Republic of Latvia. Pursuant to the Foreign Minister’s decision, those persons will be prohibited from entry to Latvia for an indefinite period of time.
The said theatre workers continue performing actively in the Crimean Peninsula occupied by Russia. In view of Latvia’s principles-based support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the entry to, and stage appearance in the Republic of Latvia of such persons is unwelcome.
Latvia condemns in the strongest terms the aggression unleashed by Russia on Ukraine and its territorial integrity in 2014, and the unprovoked and unjustifiable full-scale military invasion of Ukraine which has been going on for almost a year, in which, due to the brutality of the Russian armed forces, Ukrainian civilians and soldiers have been losing their lives every day.