Foreign Minister reaffirms Latvia ‘s continued support for Ukraine’ s sovereignty and territorial integrity Press release

The Foreign Minister reaffirms Latvia’s continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and its territorial indivisibility

March 12, 2021

The information was prepared by the Communication Group.

On March 12, 2021, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs participated in an informal online discussion of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Crimea organized by Estonia, seven years after the illegal annexation of the Russian Federation. The Foreign Minister confirmed Latvia’s strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and its territorial indivisibility, noting that Latvia will continue to maintain a policy of non-recognition of the occupation of Crimea. “Russia’s actions are a violation of international law, which has a negative impact on international security and stability. For seven years now, the international community has clearly expressed its support for Ukraine and respect for international law.”

E. Rinkēvičs pointed out that the situation in Crimea is deteriorating. Latvia is particularly concerned about human rights violations and repression against members of the Crimean Tatar community and other ethnic groups. All human rights violations must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. At the same time, the Foreign Minister reiterated Russia’s call for international human rights monitoring mechanisms to have access to the occupied territories. The Minister expressed concern about the growing militarization of Crimea, which is having a negative impact on the security situation in the Black Sea region. Russia’s efforts to change the demographic situation in Crimea are particularly worrying, as is Russia’s policy of “passportation” and the recruitment of the Crimean people into the Russian armed forces, in violation of international humanitarian law.

The informal meeting of the UN Security Council (the so-called Arria format) “Crimea: seven years of violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” was chaired by Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets. Latvia was among the main supporters of more than 20 discussions. The briefing on the situation in Crimea was given by Ilze Brands-Kehris, UN Under-Secretary-General for Human Rights, as well as representatives of various non-governmental organizations.

Additional information:

Communication group

Phone: (371) 67016 272;

Fax: (371) 67828 121

E-pasts: [email protected]

Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street 3, Riga, LV-1395

Website: www.mfa.gov.lv

–

–