President of Poland Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda arrived in Latvia for an official visit on 1 February. Presidents of Latvia and Poland gave brief media statements following the meeting in the Riga Castle.
Remarks by the President of Latvia Egils Levits:
‘President of Poland and I meet regularly. However, this is a special visit given the current geopolitical environment, which changed drastically on 24 February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Latvia and Poland have close historical ties. Poland played major role in emergence of Latvian State in 1918/1920. Poland liberated Latgale and Daugavpils – the second largest Latvian city. And Polish roots run deep in our culture and society, forming a vital part of our national heritage.
We, the Latvians and Poles, both broke free in late 1980s and early 1990s. We joined the European Union and NATO at the same time. Common path has brought us closer and made us think alike or even support the same position on key issues for Europe and the world.
We see security the same way, always, and security was also the main issue we discussed today.
We talked about continued help to Ukraine which is currently defending its statehood, independence and freedom, and at the same time fighting for us – Latvians, Poles, Europeans and the whole Western world. It is, hence, our obligation to make all efforts to help Ukraine emerge victorious from this war.
As war continues, we see that Russia’s plans to take over Ukraine in days or weeks have failed. War continues thanks to the courage of Ukrainian people and support of Latvia, Poland and the rest of the free world. This help must not stop.
We both agree that those who are responsible for starting this war must be held accountable. We both agree that Poland and Latvia must continue to advocate for special international ad hoc tribunal for prosecution of crimes of aggression in the international fora. Such court could operate under the UN, but there are other options too.
We also agreed to work towards transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine where they can be used to rebuild the country.
We discussed ways to facilitate strategic regional infrastructure projects. Rail Baltica is one of such strategic endeavours that carries economic and also strategic military significance. Military dimension of this project has increased recently, and we need to continue focusing our efforts on Rail Baltica. Rail Baltica is one of the steps in a wider infrastructure development strategy for connecting Three Seas Initiative countries in North to South of the region.
President of Poland is one of founders of the Three Seas Initiative, so we both agreed to keep a close eye on the Initiative as it continues to grow.
Latvia greatly welcomes the activities of local Polish diaspora. Latvian-Polish Culture and Education Cooperation Programme will ensure the future of Polish schools in Latvia. Poles are one of the most active minority groups in Latvia. They are loyal to our country and well-integrated in our society. They continue to nurture their cultural identity and ties with Poland.
EU and NATO response to Russian invasion of Ukraine has largely been shaped and formulated by us – Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – because we have no doubt who is right in this situation.’
