On 23 September 2022, in New York, during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić. The officials discussed the upcoming Latvia’s presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and its priorities.
The minister expressed conviction that at the present moment efforts should be made to improve the effectiveness of the Council of Europe so that the organisation could adjust to the evolving geopolitical situation in Europe. Latvia’s presidency will focus on improving the operations of the Council of Europe to make it more transparent and more open to society, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined.
The Latvian Foreign Minister expressed support for the work of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). At the same time, he noted it was vital to achieve that the execution of the ECHR judgments was ensured not only in the Council of Europe’s member states but also in Russia, which was expelled from the organisation this past 16 March.
The Foreign Minister and the Secretary General exchanged views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Foreign Minister underlined that Russia had to assume full legal and financial responsibility for crimes perpetrated in Ukraine for the perpetrated crimes, including the crimes of aggression. “Latvia supports Ukraine’s efforts of creating a mechanism to ensure Russia’s international accountability and compensation for the losses caused. Ukraine’s opinion on this matter is important to us,” Edgars Rinkēvičs said.
The Latvian Foreign Minister invited the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to visit Latvia.