It is necessary to combat the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia through Belarus, emphasized Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs on Thursday during a meeting at the Riga Castle with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
As reported to the LETA agency by presidential advisor Mārtiņš Drēgeris, Rinkēvičs expressed support for political prisoners in Belarus and their families on behalf of Latvia.
The president condemned the repressions of Alexander Lukashenko's regime against Belarusian civil society and the democratic opposition, as well as the hybrid attacks carried out by the regime against Latvia and other countries in the region, including the artificially created pressure of illegal migration and the use of smuggled meteorological balloons.
Rinkēvičs emphasized that pressure on Belarus must continue until the Belarusian regime fundamentally changes its policy. The president noted that Latvia's position remains unchanged: sanctions against Russia and Belarus must continue. He also positively assessed the efforts of the United States to free political prisoners.
