Around 20 municipalities in Latvia had twinning agreements with municipalities in Russia and Belarus until 2022. These agreements provided for cooperation on tourism, environment, transport, health and culture. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, municipalities suspended or terminated twinning agreements with local governments in Russia and Belarus.
This form of cooperation has just been repeatedly brought to the attention of the Ukrainian ambassador to Latvia, Anatolii Kutsevol, who in a letter to the Saeima's State Administration and Local Government Committee called for an exclusion of this possibility through amendments to the law. Such forms of cooperation, if still in force even formally, are reprehensible and dangerous, Kutsevol told the committee's deputies on Wednesday:
"I wanted to stress that, as the war in Ukraine continues, Russia and Belarus can use these loopholes to their advantage. By renewing or not canceling the twinning agreements, Latvian municipalities give these countries the opportunity to spread disinformation and narratives that benefit themselves."
There is currently no information that any Latvian local governments still have cooperation agreements in force with local governments in Russia and Belarus, said Gints Kaminskis, chairman of the Latvian Association of Local Governments:
"We were the ones who called on all municipalities to terminate such agreements in the early days of the war, and I think if there are any left, this is a renewed call. Of course, it should be possible [to control] the termination [of contracts] by those who do not understand that such a decision has to be taken not only today but for the future, but it is unlikely that this should be provided for directly in the Local Government Law."
In line with the request of the Saeima Committee on State Administration and Local Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development will ask local governments to provide updated information on cooperation agreements.
