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Latvian MFA summons Russian charge d'affaires after officials declared wanted

Earlier, the Russian Interior Ministry declared Latvian Justice Minister Inese Libina-Engere, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens and Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze wanted on criminal charges

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Košovojs/CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia

© Edgars Košovojs/CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons

VILNIUS, February 14. /TASS/. Latvia’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Russian Charge d'Affaires Oleg Zykov over Moscow’s move to declare a number of Latvian ministers wanted, according to a statement.

"Russian Charge d'Affaires Oleg Zykov will be summoned to the Latvian Foreign Ministry on February 14, 2024, to clarify a publicly available list of former and current Latvian government officials against whom Russia has brought politically motivated charges," the statement reads.

On Tuesday, the Russian Interior Ministry declared Latvian Justice Minister Inese Libina-Engere, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens and Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze wanted on criminal charges. In addition, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Estonian Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys were also declared wanted. A law enforcement official told TASS that they were wanted in a criminal case concerning the destruction of and damage to monuments to Soviet soldiers.

Latvia’s parliament passed a law on May 13, 2022, suspending Article 13 of an agreement with Russia, which obliged the parties to preserve and maintain military memorials and burial sites. The lawmakers’ move gave the Latvian authorities a free rein particularly to demolish the Monument to the Soviet Soldiers, the liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Nazi invaders. Libina-Engere, Aseradens and Krauze were parliament members at the time of the vote.

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