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On 15 January, Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, and the accompanying delegation met in Kyiv with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verhkovna Rada of Ukraine, who thanked Latvia for its unwavering support.

The Speaker of the Saeima stressed that Latvia is and will continue to closely follow the events in Ukraine on a daily basis. We advocate for a just and lasting peace that must guarantee Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its own choices in foreign policy. Russia has to be brought to the negotiation table, emphasised Speaker Mieriņa.

“We will never recognise the illegal annexation carried out by Russia, and the aggressor will have to pay for its crimes,” the Speaker of the Saeima said when discussing the sanction policy. Speaker Mieriņa highlighted that sanctions must be continued because they work and Ukraine is looking forward to the next rounds of sanctions.

The Speaker of the Saeima also confirmed Latvia’s willingness to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, however the details still need to be clarified.

“Ukraine is a civilised, modern state, and we undoubtedly see Ukraine as part of the European Union. That membership will, first and foremost, be earned through the work and reforms that Ukraine will implement,” the Speaker of the Saeima said. “Your parliament is tackling an immense workload, dealing with tight deadlines to make decisions that are of paramount importance to the future of the state.”

Despite Russia’s unrelenting attacks, the people of Ukraine cherish every day, said Speaker Stefanchuk, emphasising that in many regions people have come to greatly appreciate such seemingly mundane things like electricity and heating.

The Speaker of the Saeima is accompanied in Kyiv by Antoņina Ņenaševa, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima; Ināra Mūrniece, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Raimonds Bergmanis, Chair of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee; Jānis Skrastiņš, Chair of the Group for promoting cooperation with the Parliament of Ukraine; and Linda Liepiņa, Member of the Group.

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Saeima Press Service