Grain Russia steals from occupied territories of Ukraine should be sanctioned – Latvian President

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs has said that issues around grain and other foodstuffs Russia steals from the occupied territories of Ukraine should be taken into account in decisions regarding sanctions against Russia.

Source: Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs during a press conference in Kyiv, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "I think the issues around grain and other foodstuffs Russia steals from the occupied territories of Ukraine should be taken into account in the sanctions mechanism. Some aspects have already been taken into account. I also think that the way we coordinate the implementation of the sanctions on the European level and how we check where certain goods have come from is equally important. We need to work on this issue," Rinkēvičs said.

Meanwhile, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said that sanctions should not affect basic needs.

"There is another aspect. A country cannot benefit from the goods it has stolen. That’s why we need to strengthen control mechanisms. I’m talking about sanctions against dual use goods that circumvent sanctions and end up in the Russian Federation. We need to deal with problems around these gaps and to implement new solutions for import and export to and from the EU in order to put an end to this," Šimonytė stressed.

She added that first and foremost the EU must turn its attention to the countries neighbouring Russia, "because those are the areas where the majority of trade is taking place".

"We will continue working to prevent Putin from benefiting from the goods he has stolen," Šimonytė stressed.

Previously: Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs has earlier supported the idea of limiting the import of Russian grain to the EU.

Finland has given €3 million to support Ukraine’s efforts to export grain to countries most dependent on it and to aid the demining of Ukrainian fields.

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