Latvia will pursue an active, bold and cooperative foreign policy - PM

RIGA - The goal of the Latvian Government's foreign policy remains unchanged - it will pursue an active, bold and cooperative foreign policy, Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said at the annual foreign policy debate at Saeima on Thursday.

Silina said that Latvia's values and national interests fully coincide with those of Ukraine, namely a rules-based international order in which peace, trust, cooperation and predictability should prevail. "The equality, independence, sovereignty and indivisibility of states are not empty sounds, but clear principles that we defend in words and deeds," the Prime Minister said.

Silina confirmed to the MPs that Latvia would continue to support Ukraine financially, politically and militarily until its victory. "We are doing this not only to help Ukraine, but also because our people remember well what evil means and what life is like under the yoke of a conqueror," said Silina.

The Prime Minister said that Latvia continues to strengthen its position in the Euro-Atlantic structures and in the Western space in general. Some of the most important tasks of Latvia's foreign policy are close cooperation with the Baltic and Nordic countries, participation in the core of the European Union, good transatlantic relations and NATO cohesion.

The Prime Minister informed that the next European Council meeting will take place in Brussels next week, and the main item on the agenda will be the provision of long-term financial support to Ukraine. At the European Council, Latvia will strongly advocate further sanctions against Russia, increasing pressure on the aggressor and isolating it. Latvia will work in its foreign policy to ensure that Russia compensates Ukraine for the damage it has caused and is held accountable for all crimes

Latvia's task is also to reduce any ties with the Russian and Belarusian regimes. "These two neighboring countries are pursuing policies that are openly hostile not only to Latvia's statehood and security, but also to our freedom, democracy and the rule of law in general," said Silina, adding that "the new Iron Curtain was never a choice of the West, but of the aggressors and supporters of aggression".