During the visit to Eastern Ukraine, the President of Latvia met with the command of the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who presented the situation in Eastern Ukraine and Russia’s military activities in Ukraine.
During the meeting with the troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the President of Latvia reiterated Latvia’s strong support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and stressed that Latvia did not recognise the illegal elections in the Ukrainian government-uncontrolled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Raimonds Vējonis attended the city of Marinka himself, where he familiarised with the Observing Station of Ukrainian Armed Forces and the ruined city. At the end of the visit, Raimonds Vējonis visited the control point Marinka, which is crossed by more than 1 million people every month.
The President of Latvia emphasises, “When visiting the conflict zone, I verified once again today that this conflict has not been stopped. Due to incidents, Ukraine faces human victims almost every day. Russia has all the tools to put an end to the conflict it has entailed. However, unfortunately, it has not taken steps so far to de-escalate the conflict. Therefore sanctions against Russia must remain in force.”
“Despite the difficult circumstances in which the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine operates, it contributes to the compliance and implementation of the Minsk Agreement invaluably. Latvia has also sent 8 experts to the OSCE Mission,” stated Raimonds Vējonis.
The President of Latvia outlined that Latvia was providing and was ready to provide humanitarian aid in the future as well, including organising the rehabilitation of injured Ukrainian soldiers and children in Latvia. The President of Latvia welcomed the fact that medical treatment for 15 injured Ukrainian soldiers was provided in Latvia those days.
President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis paid an official visit to Ukraine from 23 November to 25 November 2018, where he met with President of Ukraine Mr Petro Poroshenko, and he participated in the commemorative events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor by condemning the repressions of the Stalinist Soviets against the Ukrainian people. Raimonds Vējonis also met with Prime Minister of Ukraine Mr Volodymyr Groysman and representatives of the Crimean Tatars.
