The President of Latvia emphasised that Latvia like the entire international community condemned the illicit annexation of the Crimean peninsula and aggression against Ukraine in the east committed by Russia.
“We have always had firm stance for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. We believe that the reconsideration of the sanctions imposed against Russia is possible only after complete fulfilment of the Minsk agreements,” said Raimonds Vējonis, pointing out that the agreement included withdrawal of all foreign military formations, military equipment, and mercenaries out of the territory of Ukraine, as well as renewal of the full control over Ukrainian-Russian border.
The President of Latvia welcomed the accomplishments of the Ukrainian government taken to date in reforming public administration and national economy while calling to keep the pace of reforming process. Here, active support from the European Union and other international partners was required.
“Latvia gives a helping hand to Ukraine in reforming, because Latvia understands the complexity of reforming tasks in Ukraine. Already now we pass on our experience to Ukraine regarding regional reform, reforms in agriculture and anti-corruption, as well as we implement educational projects,” stated Raimonds Vējonis.
During the visit of the President of Ukraine to Riga, a joint statement of the President of Ukraine and the President of Latvia was made and a Latvian-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in environmental protection was signed.
The President of Latvia acknowledged the importance of developing people-to-people contacts, and he expressed the hope that the citizens of Ukraine would be able to travel to the Schengen countries visa free as early as this summer.
During the meeting, the Presidents also discussed opportunities for enhancing Latvian and Ukrainian economic cooperation and developing new business projects. “Ukraine has traditionally been an important trading partner for Latvia. There are many areas, where Latvian and Ukrainian entrepreneurs could develop closer co-operation. For instance, pharmaceuticals, food industry, mechanical engineering, transport, and logistics,” indicated the President of Latvia.
Joint Statement of the President of Ukraine and the President of the Republic of Latvia