From July 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia will resume accepting visa applications from citizens of Russia. This decision was made after assessing the security situation and consultations with neighboring countries and regional partners.
This was reported to Delfi by the press service of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Family members of citizens and non-citizens of Latvia (spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, as well as dependents), family members of citizens of EU countries, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, as well as people entering the country, can apply for a visa. for humanitarian purposes — for example, in case of a serious illness of a loved one or participation in a funeral, as well as in cases where there is a threat to a personʼs safety or life.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia emphasized that each application for a visa will be considered individually, and the applicant must provide documentary evidence of belonging to the above-mentioned categories.
- On the evening of June 23, the founder of the Russian PMC Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military of hitting the mercenary rear camp, "a huge number of fighters died." The command for the destruction of the PMC "Wagner" was allegedly given by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov after a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Prigozhin informed about the beginning of the "march of justice", took control of Rostovʼs military facilities, including the airfield, and the "Wagnerians" began to move towards Moscow.
- On the evening of June 24, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Aleksander Lukashenko agreed with Prigozhin "about the inadmissibility of unleashing a bloody massacre on the territory of Russia." Then Prigozhin informed that they were disbanding the columns and returning to the field camps. After that, it became known that Prigozhin would go to Belarus.
- On June 24, when the mutiny was still going on in Russia, Latvian President Edgar Rinkevich informed that the country would not issue humanitarian or other visas to Russians "in connection with the events in Russia." At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stopped considering visas for Russians who wanted to leave against the background of the rebellion.
- On June 26, Latvia completely stopped issuing any visas to citizens of the Russian Federation due to the "unpredictable development of internal political events in Russia."