The Member of Parliament of Latvia on Thursday has called Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism” whose war in Ukraine constitute “targeted genocide against Ukrainian people.”
As per the statement released by MPs, “The parliament recognizes Moscow as a state sponsor of terrorism, and calls on other like-minded nations to express the same view.”
Voting by 67 in favour and none against or abstaining in Latvia’s unicameral legislature, MPs said they considered “Russia’s action against civilians committed in pursuit of political aims as terrorism.”
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba hailed the vote as a “timely move.”
He mentioned it on Twitter that, “Ukraine encourages other states and organizations to follow suit.”
The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has denounced the vote as “primal xenophobia”, further mentionint that, “It is required to call the ideologues nothing but neo-Nazis.”
The Latvian parliament statement also criticized the use of cluster munitions by Russian troops, saying they were having clear intentions “to sow fear and indiscriminately kill civilians.”
Meanwhile, it mentioned that Moscow had used suffering and intimidation as a way in its attempts to demoralize the Ukrainian people and armed forces and paralyze the functioning of the state to occupy Ukraine.”
The parliament also urged the European Union to stop issuing tourist visas for Russian and Belarusian citizens and to cut down on entry visas in general.
It said Russia’s invasion was carried out “with the support and involvement of the Belarusian regime” and called on the international community to impose on Belarus the same sanctions adopted against Russia.