As Russia is upping its aggression against Ukraine, the Progressives (Progresīvie) political party, which is not represented in the Saeima but works in a coalition in the capital's city council, is calling on the government to introduce sanctions against those close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Latvia. The introduction of national sanctions is not supported by the political forces represented in the Saeima, which believe that sanctions should be united - by the European Union, the UN, the OSCE and other international organizations. There is also the idea that sanctions should be directed not only against those close to the Kremlin but also against all Russian citizens.
Progressives, in the person of its co-chair, Antoņina Ņenaševa, calls on the Latvian government to take a decision to freeze the assets in Latvia of officials at all levels of Russia's ruling party, United Russia, and of businessmen and their family members who are close to the Kremlin and who are mentioned in other sanctions.
"We call on Latvia and the international community to immediately introduce comprehensive economic and financial sanctions against Russia's political leadership, military-industrial complex, armed forces command and the country's economic structures, and to keep these sanctions in place until Russia stops its provocative actions against Ukraine," Progressives said in a statement.
But the parties that have a bigger say on the big political stage do not agree with the Progressives, who have not yet stepped on this stage. Rihards Kols, chairman of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee, representing the National Alliance (Nacionālā apvienība), is convinced that sanctions against the Russian Federation and those close to President Vladimir Putin must be coordinated and synchronised with our partners in the European Union and other international organizations.
The politician points out that the sanctions will certainly target Russia's financial and economic sectors, as well as technology transfers. However, he would like to see sanctions targeting all Russian citizens. In particular, Kols believes that it would also be useful to suspend the issuing of EU tourist visas to Russian citizens.
"As a Member of Parliament, I would like to see the suspension of tourist visas as such. It must be understood that Russian society is very supportive of the Kremlin's policies. It is supported by more than 70% of the population who believe that NATO is the aggressor and the escalator of the situation and that Russia therefore has every right and even the duty to retaliate. If this is the position of the wider Russian public, then it does not go along with them going to aggressor countries for a holiday,"
said Kols, who also supports the inclusion of those responsible for the invasion of Ukraine on the blacklist, stressing that such sanctions would require the consent of allies.
He also stresses that this is a serious test for the European Union, which should be able to impose sanctions on Russia in the shortest possible time than in the past - three to six months.
Vita Anda Tērauda, head of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima, representing Development/For! (Attīstībai/Par!), agrees that the inclusion of such an instrument in the package of international sanctions could at least be discussed. However, she points out that denying visas to all Russian citizens might be too draconian a measure, at least for the time being.
"It is certainly something to consider, but there is a question of proportionality. If we were to apply such a sanction to the entire population of Russian citizens, it would be a very severe type of sanction, because it would affect not only those individuals involved in the invasion of Ukraine, but also those who have nothing to do with it and those who are trying to resist the regime," the committee chair said. "It is in Latvia's interest to be part of the European Union's common policy and to work actively to influence the content of these sanctions."
Juris Rancāns, chairman of the Saeima's Defense, Internal Affairs and Prevention of Corruption Committee, representing the New Conservative Party (Jaunā konservatīvā partija), is also convinced that Latvia should join the EU's common policy in this situation, but he does not support Kols' idea. Rancāns, who supports sanctions against decision-makers and those close to them, believes that "nation should not be pitted against nation".
Valērijs Agešins, the representative of Harmony (Saskaņa) on the Saeima's National Security Committee, is skeptical about the usefulness of sanctions.
He believes that, despite the rapid escalation of the situation, efforts should still be made to resolve the conflict diplomatically. "There is no other way. I do not see any other solutions than diplomatic ones. I see that in the current situation many are willing to give advice and few take responsibility for it, so I think that we should continue to overcome all conflicts diplomatically as far as possible," Agešins said.
In his opinion, sanctions should not be rushed, as they will harm not only the Russian economy but also the Latvian economy, which is already suffering from the crisis.
"Sanctions are not a sustainable solution, we need to think of something else, we need to demonstrate the skill of all our diplomats. Sanctions will do nothing but damage the economy because Russia - and Belarus too - are quite self-sufficient," the MP said.