Latvia will continue supporting civil society in Belarus

RIGA - On April 1, in Tallinn, Estonia, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics (New Unity) met with the leader of the democratic Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, for a discussion on issues related to the war launched by Russia on Ukraine and the ways to support the Belarusian civil society, LETA learned from the Latvian Foreign Ministry.

Rinkevics commended Tsikhanouskaya’s efforts of appealing to the Belarusian society and condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine, a war supported by the Lukashenko regime. The Minister underlined that Latvia would continue standing up for strong economic sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime. The parties to the conversation agreed that a situation in which Russia uses Belarus to circumvent economic sanctions cannot be tolerated.

The Latvian Foreign Minister confirmed that Latvia would further assist the Belarusian civil society in its efforts to establish a free and democratic Belarus. Rinkevics informed the Belarusian side about a grant competition for development cooperation projects announced by the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March, one of the priorities of which is support for civil society in Belarus. The Minister invited Tsikhanouskaya to prepare and submit project applications together with Latvian partners.