In the light of the destruction and suffering as a result of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, including the murder of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and acts of terrorism against civilian infrastructure, the Saeima adopted a Statement on Thursday, 22 February, honouring Ukrainian defenders and citizens for their courage and heroism and expressing support to Ukraine until its victory.
In the Statement, the Saeima reiterates its strongest condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. Members demand that Russia immediately ceases all military activities in Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine.
The Statement reminds that the hesitation of Ukraine’s supporters prolongs the war, costing the lives of innocent Ukrainian people, also calling for an urgent and significant increase in military assistance to Ukraine, in particular in the areas identified by the Ukrainian government, in order to contribute to Ukraine’s ability to regain full control over its entire internationally recognised territory and to successfully defend itself against further Russian aggression.
The support and provision of weapons to Russia for the implementation of the war of aggression in Ukraine and the killing of its citizens is a basis for recognising countries such as Belarus and Iran as complicit in violations of international law, serious crimes of international scale and terrorist acts committed by Russia against Ukraine, says the Statement.
The parliamentarians urge to immediately and substantially increase political, economic, financial, military, technical, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to enable its defence against Russia’s war of aggression and attempts to destabilise Ukrainian public institutions, undermine the country’s economic stability, and destroy critical energy, communication, water supply, and transport infrastructure, as well as education, health, and culture infrastructure.
The Saeima strongly condemns the illegal, forced relocation of Ukrainian children by Russia and Belarus to these countries, which constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law, a war crime, and genocide, and calls on the international community and organisations, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, to become actively involved in addressing this issue so that children abducted from Ukraine could be returned to their families or legal guardians as quickly and safely as possible.
The parliamentarians firmly resolve to support international efforts to ensure comprehensive accountability for war crimes and other most heinous international crimes committed in relation to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including the crime of aggression against Ukraine, and underscores the obligation of the international community to establish a special international tribunal to prosecute the political and military leadership of Russia.
The Statement also underlines that the holding of elections by Russia in the temporarily occupied and illegally annexed territories of Ukraine is a serious violation of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, and of the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and does not recognise the holding of such elections or their results in the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied and illegally annexed by Russia.
MPs welcome the current sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia and calls for the sanctions to be expanded to prohibit the supply of high-tech products and strategic goods to Russia in order to strategically weaken the Russian economy and its military-industrial complex, imposing sanctions on companies that directly or indirectly support the activities of the Russian defence sector and on the import of agricultural and animal feed products to the EU from Russia and Belarus or from other third countries if the products originate in Russia or Belarus.
The Saeima also calls for a stronger and more effective enforcement of sanctions policies, prevention and investigation of any circumvention of sanctions, implementation of solutions to prevent the circumvention of sanctions through third countries, and a strong stance against entities facilitating the circumvention of sanctions in various sectors.
In the statement, the parliamentarians also urge the European Union to step up the application, where warranted, of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, which is an important EU sanctions mechanism, to target all persons responsible for committing, supporting, or organising human rights violations, atrocities, or war crimes in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Saeima advocates the need to introduce at European Union level a legal regime that would allow its Member States to use frozen Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine and compensation for victims of the Russian aggression.
The Parliamentarians support Ukraine’s eventual membership of the European Union and NATO, also highlighting the need for opening European Union accession negotiations with Ukraine as soon as possible, acknowledging the reform efforts made by Ukraine.
Latvia will continue to provide comprehensive support to Ukraine, including government, local government, civil society, and NGO initiatives, to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience against Russian aggression and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular in the Chernihiv Oblast
MPs express their solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, who tirelessly demonstrate remarkable courage and resilience against incessant threats and attacks. The Saeima honours the defenders and residents of Ukraine for their courage and heroism, and commemorates all victims of the Russian aggression – thousands of Ukrainian civilians and defenders.
Saeima Press Service