On Friday, 8 April, at the invitation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns, the Estonian Minister of Justice Maris Lauri and the Lithuanian Minister of Justice Evelina Dobrovolska will arrive in Riga. At the meeting, the Baltic States’ ministers of justice plan to discuss the military invasion by Putin’s regime and the possibilities for the three Baltic States to support the Ukrainian state, as well as the process of calculating and recovering the losses caused by the USSR occupation.
During the meeting, the Baltic States' Ministers of Justice will discuss the possibility of jointly visiting Ukraine and providing the necessary support mechanisms. Every form of support is important at the moment, as evidenced by the Latvian government’s decision this week to allocate 100 000 euros to the International Criminal Court to provide urgent financial support and facilitate its ongoing investigation into war crimes committed by the Putin regime on Ukrainian territory.
In 2015, the three Baltic States’ Ministers of Justice agreed on the need to calculate and recover the losses caused by the USSR occupation regime in their respective countries, thus putting their relations with the past in order and making scientifically sound calculations of the losses caused by the totalitarian communist occupation regime of the USSR. It is particularly important to be aware of and speak out about the historical occupation of the USSR, given the current military invasion of independent Ukraine by the Putin regime.
The meeting will conclude with a press briefing by the Baltic States’ Ministers of Justice on the discussions and planned activities to support the victims of war crimes in Ukraine. Following the meeting at the Ministry of Justice, the Baltic States’ Ministers of Justice plan to lay flowers at the Freedom Monument and honour the memory of Latvian freedom fighter Gunārs Astra at the monument dedicated to him “Do not be afraid!”.
Opportunities for the media:
The Baltic States’ Ministers of Justice meeting will take place at the Ministry of Justice at 11.00. Media representatives are invited to attend a press briefing on the outcome of the meeting at 12.20. The Ministry of Justice invites media representatives to apply for participation in the press briefing by 10.00 on 8 April 2022 to Evija Rimšāne by sending their name and the media represented to the following e-mail address: Evija.Rimsane@tm.gov.lv.