Latvian civil servants were banned from visiting Russia and Belarus in order to reduce threats to national security. The Diet adopted the corresponding law in the third reading. About this informs Delphi.
The ban applies to employees of the state administration and deputies of the Seimas. Its purpose is to prevent or reduce threats to national security from Russia and Belarus. In addition, the ban applies to employees who have access to state secrets, employees of the ministries of defense, internal affairs and justice, tax and customs police, diplomatic and consular services, prosecutor’s offices, courts and other institutions.
“It’s no secret that Russia and Belarus are increasingly actively conducting intelligence against Latvia, and for these purposes any citizen of the country who crosses the border is suitable for them”, – noted the head of the National Security Commission, Ainars Latkovskis.
He emphasized that despite the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Security Service to refrain from trips to the Russian Federation and Belarus, the number of such trips continues to grow. Under the current conditions, traveling to these countries is dangerous, but a large part of society “does not realize this”. According to Latkovskis, the purpose of recruiting Latvian citizens is not only to obtain certain information, but also to involve individuals in “harmful actions”.
The ban will also apply to crossing the territory of Russia and Belarus in transit. Violation of this norm will be considered as grounds for termination of employment with the relevant employee.
