On 17 September 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, had a telephone conversation with the Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See's Secretariat of State, Paul Richard Gallagher.
The officials discussed the dialogue between Latvia and the Holy See and Archbishop Gallagher’s recent visit to Belarus from 11 to 14 September.
In a discussion on the state of affairs in Belarus in the wake of the elections, the Minister praised Archbishop Gallagher’s visit to Belarus saying that the Vatican has embarked on an important and noteworthy initiative. Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined that human rights violations and reprisals by Belarusian authorities against their people who peacefully express their civic attitude to the political climate in Belarus, and against the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus are unacceptable.
Given that the Holy See recognised the Republic of Latvia de iure on 10 July 1921, the officials shared opinions on events, including visits by senior officials, to mark the centenary of the diplomatic relations between the two states.
Background information
Paul Richard Gallagher joined the Holy See’s Diplomatic Service in 1984. His visit to Riga took place this past 1 February.