On 18 September, President Edgars Rinkēvičs, together with the Presidents of Estonia and Lithuania, met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres. The meeting took place in the margins of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly and focused on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the export of Ukrainian grain to the countries of the Global South.
The President condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine and its efforts to use food as a weapon to get sanctions eased. "Since its withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia has been purposefully destroying Ukraine's port infrastructure and grain stocks. Russia is promoting world hunger in order to get sanctions against it eased," said E. Rinkēvičs.
The President also informed that Latvia still had a large amount of mineral fertiliser, calling on the UN Secretary-General and the UN World Food Programme to facilitate its export to the countries of the Global South, especially on the African continent. "Latvia is also ready to engage in the export of Ukrainian grain through Latvian ports," emphasized E. Rinkēvičs.
At the same time, the President of Latvia stressed the need to continue providing support to Ukraine and to work to ensure comprehensive accountability of Russia and its representatives for the crimes of aggression and war crimes.
