"Moscow money is an unquenchable light": Latvia is still alive thanks to the Russian market

Riga found itself in an economic trap: as it turned out, the country cannot exist without the Russian market, writes Baltus Balss. Despite the official anti-Russian rhetoric, the transit of goods continues through Latvia.

The TV24 program "Press Club" turned into a heated and emotional discussion about Latvia's relations with Russia. The head took part in it Ziedot.lv Ruta Dimanta, member of Parliament, head of the faction of the Union of Greens and Peasants Haris Rokpelnis, as well as lawyer and founder of the Latvian Logistics Association Kalvis Vitolins.

The conversation was devoted to one of the most pressing issues of recent times — whether Latvia continues to maintain economic ties with Russia, and to what extent this affects national security, moral character and public self-esteem.

Harijs Rokpelnis opened the discussion, stressing that this issue is not black and white and easily solved. He called for rational thinking:

"But if we think rationally and in the medium term, we need to look at what this means for our national economy and for the market in Europe."

Rokpelnis gave an example of the transit of Russian grain and manganese through Latvia:

"If we are in a single economic zone — the European Union — then we, Latvia, by making one decision, do not affect the total mass of trade with Russia or Central Asia, but worsen the economic situation and living conditions here on our land.

A simple example with a damn grain. There was a situation when Russia imported grain to Latvia, all taxes were paid here, documents were drawn up, and the grain was sent on its way. And that's it, Latvia no longer imported grain. Do you think the flow of grain through Latvia has stopped? No, it's not.

A similar story with manganese. But we have taken a more pragmatic approach. We have achieved the inclusion of manganese in the pan-European sanctions, and manganese no longer goes to Russia neither through Latvia, nor through any other country, and then it really has an effect."

Ruta Dimanta stressed that Latvian companies are hiding behind "humanitarian considerations." She was particularly harsh about the pharmaceutical industry:

"It still exports products to Russia. And they are hiding behind humanitarian considerations. For what humanitarian reasons?"

Dimanta also pointed out hypocrisy: while Latvia is spending money on supporting and arming Ukraine, at the same time goods and money continue to flow through the country, which, in the end, come, you know where.

Kalvis Vitolins, in turn, stressed that the example of Ukraine also shows the complexity of these issues — the Ukrainians, despite the bombing, continued to pass Russian gas through themselves all these years until the end of the agreement. And they got paid for it. In fact, it was a transit trade.

"We are just hostages of a different kind," he added.

Dimante asked:

"Can we really exist as a country without cooperation with Russia? Where is the problem?"

In response, Rokpelnis warned that such changes would affect the welfare of society.:

"Then on Ziedot.lv empty accounts will appear. We already have a large part of society living below the poverty line."

He called for a systematic and coordinated approach, stressing that the state should not act on the level of emotions, but Ruta Dimanta called this approach "hiding behind the European Union.":

"If we cannot exist without the Russian market, then we are a failed state."

Rokeplnis replied:

"We want to be in the European Union. Right? In what union? It is a political and economic union. Right? What does this mean? This means that decisions on cooperation with third countries, both political and economic, are taken in solidarity and are binding on all interested parties."

Dimante:

"Then let the European Union sue us, because we don't want transit with Russia. And, by the way, why do we have Russian cucumbers on the market?"

Rokpelnis explained:

"Because these food products are not subject to international sanctions. There was no such situation with manganese. But now he is under sanctions. This was made possible thanks to public pressure. Only through joint efforts can we achieve real results. If we manage to agree and act together, the effect will be achieved.

However, if the country remains passive, no changes will occur. But if we use a rational approach and look at the numbers, then the responsibility of a politician is not only to look beautiful and cut ribbons, but also to make decisions that are not bad if it is good for us."

Well, judging by the above dialogue, consumers in Latvia will soon lose the opportunity to buy Russian cucumbers on the market.