During her working visit to Latvia, the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk met with the newly elected Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Daiga Mieriņa and Vice-Speakers Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica and Antonina Nenaševa.
On behalf of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Olena Kondratiuk congratulated Ms Daiga on her election as Speaker of the Saeima and expressed gratitude to the Latvian Parliament as an institution for its strong and consistent support of Ukraine.
The Latvian colleagues spoke about the parliamentary tradition of collecting various items and gifts for charity every year. For two years in a row, this event has been dedicated to helping Ukrainian children. This year, Latvian MPs donated a bus and winter clothes for children in Chernihiv region, which is under the patronage of Latvia.
"For us, everything Latvia does is an example of selfless assistance to Ukraine. We are very grateful for Latvia's allocation of five million euros for the reconstruction of Chernihiv region in 2023 and the decision to include a similar amount in the budget for 2024," the Vice Speaker said.
She also stressed that Ukraine highly appreciates the strong voice of the Saeima in support of Ukraine's European integration and expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Latvian Parliament, the European Affairs Committee and all members of the Saeima for adopting a powerful Statement of 23 November 2023 in support of the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's EU membership.
As noted by the Speaker of the Saeima, Latvia will continue to support Ukraine's path to the EU and conduct advocacy campaigns in all EU countries, including at the level of parliamentary diplomacy.
The interlocutors also discussed the issue of illegal deportation of more than 19,500 Ukrainian children by russia. "We are looking forward to the Saeima's adoption of a resolution officially condemning this crime," said Olena Kondratiuk. According to her, Latvian colleagues informed that such a statement is being prepared and may be considered at the end of this year or early next year.
They also touched upon the topic of food security.
In particular, the agenda of the Latvian Parliament includes strengthening economic sanctions against russia through a ban on imports of russian grain. The Saeima will call for such sanctions to be imposed not only at the national level, but also at the level of the Baltic States and the entire European Union.
"We are grateful to the Latvian side for its contribution to the implementation of the Grain from Ukraine initiative. Sanctions against russia must be strengthened!" the Vice Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament called during the meeting.