The appeal of the State Duma made today to the President of the Russian Federation to recognise the self-declared “Luhansk People’s Republic” and “Donetsk People’s Republic” is aggravating the current tension in the region and making the resolution of the situation more difficult.
Latvia expects Russia to refrain from passing such a decision in awareness that a step like that would be in an open contradiction to the conditions of the Minsk Agreements and would disrupt the process of the Normandy Format talks.
It will be impossible for the international community not to respond to such a development, and Latvia, together with other allies, will call for a substantial strengthening of sanctions on Russia.
Latvia stands in solidarity with Ukraine, and will continue to firmly advocate Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in its internationally recognised borders.