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On 6 November 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, delivered a keynote address for an international conference, Guarding the Gate: Sanctions, Export Controls & Business Responsibilities, organised by the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia (FIU Latvia).
Foreign Minister Baiba Braže: “Sanctions are working and figures clearly demonstrate that sanctions have a significant impact on the Russian economy. Sanctions by the EU, the U.S., the UK and other international partners are effective and must be further strengthened to constrain Russia and its co-aggressors. Together with the Allies, we must continue mutually harmonise the restrictive measures against Russia’s energy sector and financial institutions, as well as working on the alignment of sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Sanctions must also target subjects in third countries who help circumvent sanctions and support aggression. We will keep the sanctions focused on Russian energy exports, the shadow fleet and its supporters until the aggression stops.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs thanked the Latvian authorities – security services, the Customs Board, the Border Guard, the State Revenues Service – for their excellent cooperation in ensuring effective enforcement of sanctions and preventing their evasion – sanctions control falls as a significant burden on Latvia as a country at the external border of the European Union (EU). Moreover, 75% of identified sanctions violations on the border are related to export procedures initiated in other EU countries.
The Foreign Minister underlined that the fight against sanctions circumvention is not the duty of EU border states alone, it is a national responsibility of all the EU Member States.