Ukrainian foreign minister urges also other countries follow Latvian parliament and designate Russia as state sponsor of terrorism

RIGA - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday thanked Latvia for its resolution to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, urging other countries and organizations to follow this suit

"Grateful to Latvian parliament Saeima and all of its members for recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. A timely move: Russia has long deserved this status with its actions in Ukraine and beyond. Ukraine encourages other states and organizations to follow suit." Kuleba said on Twitter.

As reported, in an official statement passed today, Saeima recognized Russia's violence against civilians in Ukraine and other countries as terrorism, and Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The statement "On Russia's Targeted Military Attacks on Ukrainian Civilians and Public Buildings", which was endorsed by Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee on August 2, urges other like-minded countries to also label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.

Saeima says in the statement that Russia is targeting Ukrainian civilian population, using suffering and intimidation as a tool in its attempts to demoralize the Ukrainian people and armed forces, paralyze the country's ability to act in order to occupy Ukraine and achieve its political goals.

In the statement, Saeima members categorically condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the support and involvement of the Belarusian regime, and call on the transatlantic community and its partners to urgently step up and implement comprehensive sanctions against Russia in order to put a halt to Russia's military aggression in Ukraine.

Saeima calls for increasing military, financial, humanitarian and diplomatic support for Ukraine and supporting initiatives that condemn Russia's military activities in Ukraine. The statements calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable, demands that Russia be isolated from international and regional organizations, and that equivalent sanctions be imposed on Belarus as a supporter of Russia's military aggression.

The statement calls on the European Union member countries to immediately stop issuing tourism visas and limit issuing entry visas to citizens of Russia and Belarus.