“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of international law, the fundamental principles of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Charter of the United Nations,” stressed Juris Pūce, Head of the Latvian delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA), taking part in the OSCE PA winter session in Vienna, Austria.

On Monday, 28 February, the Speakers of the Estonian, Lithuanian Parliaments and the First Deputy Speaker of Swedish Parliament will visit Latvia on a working visit to discuss the security situation in the region.

The Baltic Assembly strongly condemns the Russian Federation’s military invasion in Ukraine and Belarus’ involvement in the attacks, said the Baltic Assembly’s statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adopted on Thursday, 24 February.

On Thursday, February 24, the Saeima in the final reading adopted amendments to the Law on Financing of Political Organisations (Parties), which provide for the reduction of state budget funding for those parties whose parliamentary groups in the Saeima have dissolved.

On Thursday, February 24, the Saeima in the second and final reading supported the urgent amendment to the Law on the Management of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection. It provides that vaccines against COVID-19 can be sold to foreign governments without applying the Public Person’s Property Expropriation Law.

On Thursday, 24 February, the Saeima adopted a Statement on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, strongly condemning the military aggression and wide-scale invasion by the Russian Federation into Ukraine. The Statement also strongly condemns the participation of Belarus in the military attack against Ukraine.

On Wednesday, 23 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented a report on the situation in Ukraine during a meeting of the European Affairs Committee. The Committee members expressed their support for Ukraine, its sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The Presidium of the Baltic Assembly firmly condemns the decision taken by the President of the Russian Federation to recognise the independence of the self-declared “people’s republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk. According to the statement adopted by the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly on 22 February, this is yet another attack on the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as a gross violation of international law.

The decision taken by the President of the Russian Federation to recognise the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, the Ukrainian territories outside the government’s control, is a continuation of the attack on Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity that began in 2014 by unlawfully changing borders in Europe.