On 19 February 2024, the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council held a meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Latvia was represented at the meeting by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the EU, Lelde Līce-Līcīte.
The Council’s agenda covered the latest developments in the Middle East, the EU’s support to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian aggression, as well as an exchange of views on the EU’s engagement with the Sahel region in Africa.
“In the run-up to the second anniversary since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU must advance closer to making pivotal decisions on an uninterrupted military support necessary for Ukraine in the long-term,” emphasized Ambassador Līce-Līcīte. The EU must agree on the 13th package of restrictive measures by 24 February and continue work on new sanctions against Russia, with a particular focus on preventing the circumvention of sanctions. Latvia would like concrete steps to be taken so that the EU could begin accession negotiations with Ukraine as early as in March. The Ambassador invited EU Member States to join the Latvia-led Drone Coalition.
Latvia, together with Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, called for solidarity and further coordinated EU action; they drew the attention of Member States to the publicly available list of names of politicians of EU countries against whom Russia has initiated politically motivated cases.
During the Council, Foreign Ministers were addressed by Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition poltician who died in prison in Russia. She announced that she would continue her husband’s work in implementing his political agenda and bringing his ideas to life. On this course, EU support would be of particular importance.