Today, coalition parties discussed the possibility of instructing the Ministry of Economics, led by Viktor Valainis, to develop a concrete plan for the complete cessation of trade with Russia and Belarus.
The Progressive Party, which proposed this, referred to certain media reports indicating that in the four years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Latvia's exports to Russia have not significantly decreased – especially compared to Estonia, where the decline was six times greater.
"Although accusations often arise in society that European countries behave hypocritically, helping Ukraine with one hand while pouring money into the economies of aggressor states with the other, the work done by the Ministry of Economics so far has not been sufficiently targeted," the Progressives accuse their coalition partners – the Union of Greens and Farmers.
In turn, Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers) believes that a plan to cease trade should be developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by a creature of 'New Unity'.
Interestingly, tomorrow at the government meeting, Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze (also from the Greens and Farmers) will report to his colleagues: in 2025, Latvia will still import food products from Russia worth 33.29 million euros; from Belarus – worth 39.47 million.
This is only half the trouble. There is also significant Russian transit. Thus, from March to November last year, Latvia exported transit goods worth 4.03 million euros, including various oilseed meal. Moreover, not only to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands – but even to Poland, which supposedly supports measures against Moscow!
