Latvia’s Foreign Ministry: Sanctions Pressure On Belarus Must Be Maintained
Reform.news Editorial Team · 18 September 2026, 21:32
https://reform.news/en/latvia-s-foreign-ministry-sanctions-pressure-on-belarus-must-be-maintained/Latvia’s Foreign Ministry supports maintaining sanctions pressure on Belarus, as the Lukashenka regime continues to threaten Latvia’s security through illegal migration. This was stated in a ministry press release following a meeting with U.S. President’s Special Envoy John Coale in Riga on September 17.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže thanked the United States for supporting the security of Latvia and the Baltic states and highly valued the U.S. side’s involvement in the release of Belarusian political prisoners.
Braže stressed that sanctions against the Belarusian regime must remain in place.
“As long as the regime continues its repression of its citizens and threatens the security of neighboring countries, the international community must continue to exert pressure on Minsk,” the Latvian foreign minister said.
Braže briefed Trump on the situation at the Latvia-Belarus border and said that since the beginning of the year, Latvian border guards had prevented more than 11,000 attempts to cross the border illegally.
“The Belarusian regime continues to use people as an instrument of pressure on Latvia and the European Union. This is not only a migration issue — it is part of Russia’s military doctrine aimed at weakening the unity of allies, creating an additional burden on our country’s border protection and threatening the security of the EU and NATO borders,” Braže said.
Latvia’s Foreign Ministry stressed that the international community should increase pressure on the Belarusian regime as repression continues in Belarus and the authorities use illegal migration and other actions that threaten the security of Latvia and other countries.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs also called for tougher sanctions against the Belarusian regime.
Coale also held talks with the Lithuanian leadership. According to the NYT, the sides discussed possible transit of Belarusian potash through the Baltic states.