President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Palestine Varsen Aghabekian Shahin met on 28 August, at the Jūrmala Residence of the President of Latvia. Meeting focused on relations between Latvia and Palestinian Authority, situation in the Middle East and Russian aggression against Ukraine.
President of Latvia stressed the importance of solving humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “We must do our best to prevent civilian casualties. Ceasefire in Gaza must be restored, hostages captured by Hamas released and full scope of humanitarian aid must be provided to Palestine’s civilian population,” President Rinkēvičs underlined.
President also expressed Latvia’s commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself, but condemned the decision of Israeli government to scale-up its military operation in Gaza Strip. President Rinkēvičs also pointed out that to stabilise the situation in the region and achieve the implementation of two-state solution, Hamas terrorists would have to release all hostages held by them and dissolve the terrorist organisation. Edgars Rinkēvičs confirmed Latvia’s support for closer dialogue between the European Union and Palestine, which should lead to more efficient response to needs of Palestinians, more sustainable growth and stronger democracy.
President of Latvia also reiterated the importance of supporting Ukraine, which is currently fighting against Russian aggression. “Russian aggression against Ukraine has direct impact on our key security priorities. For the past four years, our key priority was to build resilience against Russia and its threats,” he said.
