The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan commented on the statement of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan has reacted to the statement of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia

Omonulla Fayziev, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, commented to "Gazeta" on the statement of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia regarding the proposal to temporarily restrict the issuance of visas to citizens of Uzbekistan.

Latvian Minister of the Interior Jānis Dombrava had proposed bringing this issue to a Cabinet of Ministers meeting on September 29. He stated that several citizens of Uzbekistan had committed crimes, including against minors, shortly after arriving in Latvia, and therefore "we are obliged to act."

According to him, the issuance of visas to citizens of Uzbekistan should have been suspended for a certain period, and this time should have been used to cooperate with the Uzbek side to prevent the entry into Latvia of individuals capable of threatening public order and safety.

However, the issue was not considered at the government meeting because the coalition partners of the "National Alliance" party were not ready to include it on the agenda. The Ministry of the Interior expected it to be discussed at the next meeting.

Earlier, the Latvian Ministry of the Interior had proposed accepting visa applications only from certain categories of Uzbek citizens. This referred to family members of Latvian citizens or Uzbek citizens with the right of residence in the country, citizens of the EU, European Economic Area countries, or Switzerland, Uzbek citizens whose arrival is related to humanitarian circumstances, as well as those working in cargo and passenger transport companies, etc.

Omonulla Fayziev reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan began taking diplomatic steps immediately after reports of plans to restrict visa issuance appeared.

"Our country's embassy in Riga held a series of meetings and negotiations with the leadership of the Latvian Prime Minister's office, the ministries of foreign affairs and economy, as well as representatives of the presidential administration. In addition, the Department of Consular and Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held talks with the Latvian Embassy in Uzbekistan," the MFA press secretary said.

"During the negotiations, Uzbekistan's position regarding the potential impact of the proposed measures on bilateral relations was conveyed to the Latvian side. As a result of the [diplomatic] measures taken, the Latvian side reported that there was no need to make changes to the existing procedure," he noted.

"Uzbekistan highly values the established friendly and mutually beneficial relations with Latvia. Latvia is one of our country's important partners in the European Union, and our ties are consistently developing in political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian, migration, and other spheres," Omonulla Fayziev said.

At the same time, he emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan urges fellow citizens who are abroad or planning to go abroad to "strictly observe the legislation of the respective country, respect its national customs and traditions, and take a responsible approach to their behavior."

"Offenses committed by individuals can negatively affect not only themselves but also our other citizens who are legally studying, working, traveling, or residing abroad," the MFA representative said.

On October 1, the Latvian Minister of the Interior announced the cancellation of temporary residence permits for two citizens of Uzbekistan who had abused a swan in Carnikava. They were given seven days to leave. If they do not do so voluntarily, they will face forced deportation.

In September, a Riga court found two men guilty of torturing a swan in Carnikava in the presence of minors and sentenced them to probation supervision for nearly four years. In addition, they were deprived of the right to keep any kind of animals for four years. The defendants agreed on this punishment with the prosecutor.