Latvia prepares national sanctions against Russia beyond EU measures
Baiba Braže, Head of Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (photo: Getty Images)
Latvia plans to introduce additional sanctions against Russia. These restrictions will be imposed in addition to those already in force at the European Union level, according to a statement from the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Delfi reports.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on the introduction of a national sanctions regime against entities connected with Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The ministry emphasized that the new rules are necessary to create a mechanism for responding to threats to national security that arise in the current geopolitical conditions.
The document has already been submitted for government review and will soon be discussed in the Cabinet of Ministers.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that such powers are provided by the law on international and national sanctions. According to it, national sanctions are introduced by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers with an indication of a specific list of entities to which the restrictions apply. The decision enters into force immediately after signing, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is obliged to notify the Financial Intelligence Unit and other supervisory authorities.
At the same time, the content of the draft and the potential figures in the sanctions list are not disclosed.
Sanctions of Estonia
Estonia has already introduced its own sanctions against Russia. They concerned those persons whom the European Union excluded from the sanctions list at the request of Hungary.
In addition, Bloomberg earlier reported that the European Union is already preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia. According to the publication, the targets of the sanctions may include energy, crypto exchanges, and Russian payment systems.
