Kulbergs: Latvia should not be left alone on EU sanctions issue

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) commented on television channel TV3's program "900 sekundes" about a situation in which Latvia found itself regarding a European Union sanctions issue. According to the prime minister, the choice that had to be made in this matter was a harsh one.

Kulbergs stressed that the EU sanctions issue needed to be handled in a way that would prevent Latvia from being left alone in the decision-making process. In his view, it was important to reach a joint position among all three Baltic states on this matter, thereby strengthening the region's position in the wider European Union discussion.

During the program, the prime minister expressed frustration over the position in which Latvia ultimately ended up when the sanctions issue was being resolved. He did not go into specific technical details of the sanctions themselves, but he clearly pointed to the need for closer coordination among the Baltic states going forward.

Kulbergs' remarks indicate that the Latvian government considers a unified Baltic stance to be an essential precondition for avoiding a situation in which any one of the three countries is left isolated in the European Union's decision-making process. The prime minister's comment came in the broader context of discussions about how EU member states, including the Baltic countries, coordinate their approach to sanctions policy.