On Wednesday, 11 October, the heads of the delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) from the Baltic and Nordic (NB8) countries adopted a statement, strongly condemning the inacceptable and inhumane attacks by Hamas on Israel and the Israeli people and deeply deploring the loss of innocent lives on both sides.

MPs from the NB8 countries call for an immediate end to the attacks and violence and for the immediate release of the captured innocent hostages. 

“We stand in solidarity with Israel, which has every right to defend itself in accordance with international law and we encourage continued work for long-term stability. Only in this way can it be ensured that the Palestinian people and the Israeli people can live in peace,” expresses the statement by the heads of the NB8 delegations.

During the debate, in addition to the joint statement, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian delegation to PACE, underlined that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima adopted a statement on 7 October, strongly and categorically condemning the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas.

The PACE autumn session is taking place in Strasbourg until 13 October, bringing together parliamentarians from 46 member states. Latvian MPs participating in the session include Head of the delegation Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Head Edmunds Cepurītis, permanent representative Andris Bērziņš, and substitute representatives Ināra Mūrniece, Ričards Šlesers, and Aiva Vīksna.

Saeima Press Service