Latvia aims for new sanctions against Russia and Belarus
Evika Siliņa (Getty Images)
The European Union may postpone the introduction of new economic restrictions due to the veto of some member states, but Latvia is fully committed to further economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa says.
Latvia is "very committed" to further sanctions against Russia and Belarus. "It is very important to keep Russia out of financial resources" that provide funds for the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Latvian prime minister says.
According to her, there are still no actions on the part of Russia that would indicate its readiness to end the conflict, and that is why it continues to bomb Ukraine.
"We call for a ceasefire, but if not ceasefire is reached, they need to go further with next sanctions package against Russia," Siliņa adds.
Tightening sanctions against Russia
EU countries predict that a new package of sanctions will be approved this week. The only problem was the position of the governments in Hungary and Slovakia.
On June 23, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was quick to say that his country and Slovakia had allegedly blocked the adoption of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. But on June 24, his Slovak counterpart, Juraj Blanár, said that Slovakia would support new sanctions. He named the condition that there would be guarantees that such restrictions would not harm the Slovak economy.
Despite the opposition of some EU member states, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted that the European Union will introduce a new, 18th package of sanctions against Russia today, June 26. Thus, a program is being implemented to force the Kremlin to negotiate peace in Ukraine.
