Russia must be reined in and sanctions strengthened also against countries supporting it - Braze

RIGA - Sanctions should be further strengthened not only against Russia, but also against the countries that support it in its war against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Baiba Braze (New Unity) stressed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.

The Foreign Ministry told LETA that Braze stressed that it was important for the EU to ensure that third countries - including Iran, North Korea and China - did not support Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine's allies should also lift any restrictions on military support to Ukraine, the Minister said.

"The sanctions pressure against Russia must continue and new sanctions must be approved by the end of the year," Braze urged.

She believes it is important to impose additional restrictive measures in the areas of energy, trade, finance, disinformation, and to do more to prevent opportunities to circumvent sanctions. She called for tougher measures regarding circumvention of sanctions through third countries and for a significant narrowing of the exceptions for those issuing licences for dual-use items.

New trade restrictions with Russia should also be introduced, Braze stressed.

The Minister urged to do everything possible to weaken the Russian economy, which allows it to finance its war machine. In her view, too little is being done.

As regards the circumvention of sanctions by land, Braze reminded that 80 percent of all export declarations that pass through Latvia as the external border of the EU are initiated in other EU Member States. Moreover, Latvian customs services have found that 90 percent of sanctions violations are linked to export declarations issued in other EU Member States.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that on Thursday, October 17, David O'Sullivan, the European Commission's special envoy for sanctions implementation, will pay a working visit to Riga to discuss the current situation in the field of sanctions with experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as to participate in a conference in Riga.